The Enigma Of Her Skin
by asian anonymous
Summary: Riza and Roy's lives are finally coming together. Everything they've worked for, everything they've overcome together is finally paying off. Old friends are reunited, and everything is falling right into place. Amestris is safe. But the real question is: are they? After all, nothing good lasts forever. Or so they say… SEQUEL TO: The Burden On Her Back. DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**So…. I'M BACK!**

**Hope some people took pity on me and at least clicked the link for this story...**

**If you have absolutely no idea what is going on, this is a sequel to 'The Burden On Her Back,' which was the last (and also my first _ever_ ****fic) story I posted. **

**Read that first. **

**To anyone who forgot, I'm Pyro. **

**Feel free to call me that. **

**And just a warning: that's one of the only things I'll respond to.**

**And so begins 'The Enigma.' (That's what I'm calling it for short. I might change that later, but feel free to refer to it as that in the meantime.)**

**I know this is kinda delayed, but I want to say my traditional thank you to the last reviewers/followers/people who favorited The Burden On Her Back. **

**Pleasantly ****Premeditated**

**cherrybut quiet**

**The freaking guest who didn't leave their name. **

**heroesofolympus63**

**flying mint bunny 77**

**(Sorry in advance, because my ANs are always really long.)**

* * *

Edward Elric looked down at the person currently staring at him from the cement.

She was _really_ pretty. Any romantic feelings he had were all directed unconditionally at Winry (though, she didn't know that just yet), but that didn't mean he wouldn't admit it.

She was definitely older than him, though he could only really tell by the level of maturity radiating off of her. Her eyes looked wiser, holding more knowledge than most people. (Not old enough to be his mother, _definitely not_, but maybe an older cousin…? An aunt…?)

Her face… her face reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She was so familiar, and Ed was so busy trying to place her that he completely disregarded the man (presumably her date) trying to help her up.

Alphonse and Winry were thinking along the same lines, trying to figure out who this person was, or who she reminded them of.

Winry knew those eyes. Golden, sometimes amber. Fierce, passionate. This woman was _gorgeous,_ able to draw the attention of an entire room. And the fact that she had absolutely no idea was probably part of the reason why. The way she held her head, skilled hands brushed away her hair, it was so damn irritating that they couldn't quite recognize her_._

Then she spoke their names. First, so softly, they didn't hear it.

_"Winry?"_

Then she spoke up.

"Winry Rockbell? Edward? Alphonse?"

And then Winry knew.

Al and Ed were still in the dark, but then Winry's eyes drifted and she knew they'd figure it out soon.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye?" She asked, completely and utterly confused.

Alphonse nearly fell over and Ed's jaw dropped.

Their head turned just a fraction of an inch to see someone they _definitely _recognized right off the bat.

"Colonel Mustang?" Alphonse asked (not impolitely, because again, it's _Alphonse_ we're talking about).

"Hi Alphonse," Riza responded weakly, as Roy helped her up.

Ed was still technically under his command, but he'd asked for temporary leave, and Roy had granted his request without a second thought. God knows that that boy deserved it.

He had actually been due to report back in the next couple of weeks, a small detail that had slipped everyone's mind.

Alphonse hurried to pick up her dropped bag, his eyes flickering between the two.

Last time they'd seen the pair, Roy had been recovering from blindness and his Lieutenant has still been healing from her slit throat.

It had been kind of obvious that they had some sort connection that ran deeper than office ranks, to everyone. But this was a public display of...

"Holy crap, are you two on a date?" Ed asked, still appalled that he'd just thought about Colonel Bastard's woman in the wrong way. Lieutenant Hawkeye was almost an aunt in his eyes. Roy had been the only father figure he'd had for several years, and with him came his bodyguard. (And anyone who didn't see the romantic connection must have been completely blind.)

"Fuhrer Grumman was kind enough to drop the fraternization laws at his granddaughter's request." Roy explained shortly, his eyes trying to communicate that this was a REALLY bad place to discuss this.

Ed nodded, having more than enough practice intercepting and understanding gestures.

Roy held Riza's hand and immediately interlocked their fingers, a fact that no one missed.

"How about we go back to my place?"

* * *

"So, Edward, how have you been?" Riza asked, settling into a chair at Roy's dining table. He blinked at her, still not understanding how this person in front of him was the woman he'd served with for years.

He shook his head.

Winry pulled up a chair next to him.

"Uh…" he hesitantly began. "I've been thinking… and I'm coming back to work under the Colonel. I know I can't actually perform alchemy anymore, but I've been told that I'm guaranteed a position right under the Colonel, as is Alphonse. As State Alchemists, we can help other people, through research. Al decided he wants to apply, to study and learn more about alkahestry. Do you remember May Chang?"

Riza nodded, recalling the girl with that strange cat.

"She wants to help Al, so Amestris can start learning to 'read the dragon's pulse.' I was going to ask the Colonel what he thought of the idea." Edward's eyes suddenly lit up. "What do you think?"

"Roy would love that," she admitted. "And he would have it no other way; both of you reporting to him directly. But are you both sure you're ready for all that attention?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Winry smacked him in the head.

"Sorry," he apologized sincerely. "Old habits die hard."

"It's fine. Swear all you want; you've got nothing on Roy."

Riza chuckled, now understanding that they hadn't been made aware of Roy's current change in rank.

"You really haven't been keeping up with the military news have you?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Roy's set to become Fuhrer by the end of next month."

* * *

Needless to say, there were questions. Lots, and lots of questions.

Since the Homunculi had been taken down, a little more than a year ago, there hadn't been much time for catching up. Ishvalans had needed to be taken care of and dealt with, as had the corrupt government officers, and Edward along with his brother had needed time to re-adjust to their real bodies.

They'd been careful to not reveal to much. Not out of lack of trust, but just to let them process everything slowly. Take everything in first.

They'd spoken of Riza's true/other identity, their new relationship, Roy's new almost-position, and not much else. Ed had a very hard time believing that Roy had actually grown a pair and asked her out. That them took so damn long to get together.

Dammit he owed Al money.

Turns out, they had come back early, cutting their vacation time short. Al and Ed wanted to join Roy's team, and Winry had been looking to expand their automail business in Central.

May was going to meet them in roughly two months. She'd traveled back to Xing to deliver the good news. Their village was going to be taken under the wing of Ling his people (his village, you know what I mean). They would be spared.

Roy and Riza hadn't missed the slight red that had graced Alphonse's face when he'd spoken of the young lady. It had been at least a year since he'd seen her last, though they still communicated by mail.

Roy ruffled Ed's hair, saying that he officially couldn't make short jokes anymore. Ed had beamed with pride and satisfaction with that.

Al no longer needed the cane, and could even spar with his bother again. Riza had smiled at that, knowing that had been a part of their normal routine, at one point.

"So…. You and May huh?"

Alphonse matched the same color of Ed's old coat.

* * *

Winry yawned, and rubbed at her tired eyes.

"Do you three have a place to say?" Roy said as he walked in, followed by Ed and Al. He'd been talking with the blonde teenagers about their new positions, and whether or not they were totally ready to accept.

They'd agreed without hesitation, saying that they were more than ready.

Ed had punched him in the shoulder, 'playfully' of course, and congratulated him on this new development. Then he'd promised that if anything happened to the Lieutenant, he was going to punch him so hard he might risk losing the ability to have kids. Ever.

Roy then nodded, happy the Ed was looking out for Riza, even though they'd never been very close.

Al had reprimanded his brother, smacked him in the side of the head. But when he'd passed Roy, he promised under his breath that he agreed with his brother whole-heartedly.

"Yeah, we rented a house in a nice neighborhood. It's kind of close to here, if we drove it'd take us maybe ten minutes. We still have to unpack though…."

"Nonsense. Just stay here for the night! I insist, I've got more than enough space." Roy said, gesturing to the hallway that led to his guest rooms.

"Are you sure? I mean, we don't even have clothes to change in!" Alphonse asked timidly.

"Easy. You can borrow something of mine for tomorrow. We can drop you off at home in the morning."

"But what about Winry?"

"She can borrow clothes from Riza. I think you two are about the same size."

Riza nodded.

"Say… Tomorrow I'm off work. Roy still has to go into the office, but what do you say I help you guys move in? We can just make a quick stop at my house in the morning, and then Roy can drop us off on his way to work," Riza suggested.

"Really? Are you sure that you're up for that?" Winry asked, hopeful that she would have another female to talk to tomorrow.

She loved Ed and Al, she really did, but there were some things that only a girl would understand. (No matter _how_ feminine Al acted sometimes.)

And besides, there were a few feelings about a certain blonde that she needed to get off of her chest.

* * *

"Are you and Miss Riza sleeping together?" Al asked.

Roy's face twisted, and he coughed. He spun to face him, both the same deep crimson.

Al, just realizing how that sounded, began to apologize profusely.

"I- I meant like, is she sharing a room with you tonight or whether me and brother need to stay in the same room! Swear, I wouldn't ask that! Sorry, I should've thought that out before I said it!" Alphonse quickly tried to explain himself.

Roy relaxed, though the color still didn't leave his face.

"It's okay Alphonse. Yeah, me and Riza are sharing the room tonight. You and Ed don't have to share."

Ed popped his head around the corner.

"So you _are_ sleeping with your Lieutenant?" He asked, purposely pushing his buttons.

Roy didn't have exactly the same response.

"No."

Ed blinked.

"I'm not gonna push my luck, I still can't believe she's my…" he coughed. "-girlfriend."

"So…." he asked, his signature smirk once again settling onto his face. The uncomfortable moment, at least for him, was over. Al knew that look all too well.

_Brother's probably about to get his butt kicked._

"While we're on the topic, what's going on with your mechanic? Finally seduce her yet?" Roy asked, recalling the phrase Maes' asked every single time he ran into the boys.

"What the hell are you going on about?! I don't like Winry? I... I- I-" He slowly reddened, and he froze up.

"He's in denial…." Alphonse stage whispered to the Colonel.

No kidding.

"She's just a friend!" He insisted. "She's my best friend, aside from you Al, and that's all!"

The heat coming off his skin suggested otherwise.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

As Winry was handed a folded shirt and a pair of pajama pants by Riza, Roy and Al's mingled laughter drifted up to their ears.

It was truly good for everyone to be together again.

* * *

Roy flipped off the lights, and nervously sat on the edge of the bed.

Riza had turned in almost an hour ago, as had Winry, while the guys had continued discussing new developments.

He' been nervously anticipating this moment; he hadn't laid next to Riza since… well, Ishval. An he didn't even remember it!

He was nervously wringing his hands together, hoping that he wouldn't subconsciously screw something up. Who knows what he'd try in his sleep?

He felt two arms wrap around his shoulders, and a cheek was pressed up against his.

"Hey. You okay?"

Riza's voice had a calming effect on him instantly; and the tension in his back melted away. She ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm fine."

"C'mon. Let's go to bed. It's past midnight already."

She held his hand, and pulled the covers over her. He followed suit, and just in case, he broke their contact to turn his back towards her, lying on his side.

If he'd turned around he would've seen the flash of hurt in her eyes.

"Are you angry with me?" She asked, too quite for him to hear. She had her hand outstretched between them under the blanket.

Just in case he changed his mind.

And as she began to slip into a dream, he feigned sleep.

Until he too drifted away into unconsciousness.

* * *

When he woke up, Roy's nose was flooded with the smell of Riza.

One glance down and he knew why.

In his sleep, he'd abandoned any intention of staying away and ended up holding her to his chest. Looking down, he stared at her face, features smoothed out and peaceful.

One of her dainty, experienced (NOT THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE) hands was pressed to his chest, and the other lay on his neck lightly. Her entire torso was enveloped by his arms, and he was secretly elated.

On the other hand, he was cursing himself for being so needy.

_You couldn't have gone eight hours without violating her personal space?_ He asked himself critically.

Riza stirred, having felt his heartbeat as it began to speed up.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and then one amber eye was revealed as she opened it a crack. She groggily forced the other one open, and as she realized exactly who was staring down at her, she smiled.

Sleepily, she yawned and rubbed at her eyes.

"G'morning," she mumbled. He laughed.

_Too. Damn. Cute._

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Well aren't you energetic this morning," she grumbled, all of a sudden remembering what ungodly hour it was. (Riza typically needed a few minutes to become a morning person.)

"Someone's grumpy this morning…" Roy said in a singsongy voice, purposefully egging her on.

"Don't make me shoot you," she warned, her eyes flashing dangerously. He took it in without a concern.

Worst case scenario he'd use Maes as a human shield.

Yep, that was his backup plan.

* * *

Winry slammed the car door, effectively startling Edward enough to make Alphonse bend over laughing. He'd been leaning against the window, starting to drift off.

He jolted upright, smacking the back of his head against the headrest.

Winry snorted, which opened the floodgates to a fit of laughter. Disgruntled, Edward shot her a glare, which she countered easily.

With a wrench.

To his head.

He cursed, and hurriedly climbed out of the car.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked, rubbing the sore spot on his head. Al shrunk back in fear, hoping he wouldn't also have to suffer her wrath. Winry shot him a reassuring glare, which Edward processed incredulously.

"Hey…. Why doesn't he get a wrench in his head too?" He whined.

"Because," was her short reply.

Riza smiled, seeing how familiar they all were with each other.

"Uh, Mr. Mustang?" Winry asked timidly. He waved off the rest of her sentence to say:

"Ms. Rockbell you can just call me Roy. I don't mind. But hey," he said, pointing at Ed. "That's still just 'Mustang' to you." He sent Edward a smile, just to show he was kidding.

"Oh! Thanks, and you can just can just call me Winry!" The automail mechanic said with an almost alarming amount of enthusiasm. "I was just going to ask you something. Why didn't we just go to Miss Riza's house first?"

Roy's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"We did," Roy said slowly, the house they'd just pulled up right next to looming right behind him. (Not in her driveway, but along the side of the street.)

"But wait, that's _our_ house right there," Winry said, pointing at the house just across that street.

"….Well," Roy managed to say after a few seconds of confused silence. "Guess we'll be seeing you guys more often than we thought."

"That's my house back there," Riza said, stepping forward to gesture back at her home.

"Welcome to the neighborhood."

* * *

**So…. sound okay so far?**

**I know, I know. It doesn't sound very exciting so far, but I just didn't want to cram all of this new information into the first chapter. Sorry to disappoint. **

**Same as last time, I'll try and post every other week, if not ever week. If I'm away for longer than that with no explanation, feel free to fill my PM inbox with angry questions. **

**See ya soon,**

**-Pyro**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**HELLO THERE!**

**(Sorry. We had a power outage. And I fell on black ice and sprained my wrist. That's my justification for the overdue posting. I know it's not a good excuse.)**

**I literally checked this story's stats on the day I published it and...**

**Holy...**

**OHMYGOD! I got so many people following TBOHB, who jumped right into this ****story without hesitation. Than you so much, for immediately favoriting/following TEOHS (yeah, I realize it doesn't acronym well. Too bad I'm gonna keep using it anyway…)**

**I'm really happy to a) hear from you all and b) to know you're all still alive.**

**Just wondering (PLEASE COMMENT/REVIEW ON THIS I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO), what should the teenagers call Riza/Roy? Miss Riza? Riza? Mustang? Colonel Bastard?**

**So, lets continue the tradition I've had for so long which is: specifically thanking the people who followed/favorited/reviewed/PMed.**

**TheFlyingLionFromNarnia**

**SquishyJellyKittenOfDoom**

**Rex the wolf**

**Curious 0309**

**DarkWinxGirl**

**Daddy'sLittleAngie99**

**flying mint bunny 77**

**Sorry (in advance) because the plot line sucks...**

* * *

Boxes.

Lots, and lots of boxes. Big, heavy boxes.

Riza lifted one with little to no trouble, and started to carry it up the front steps. Behind her, the Elrics gaped.

_"Has the the Lieutenant always been so strong?!" _Edward whispered to his brother in disbelief. Alphonse openly looked on, surprised.

Riza looked back concerned, as the two boys had been suspiciously quiet as of late. One thing she'd learned with the Colonel: quiet (and alive) meant trouble. No sound meant something was wrong, because when men were practically silent on their own will, something was up. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Usually bad.

Her own personal experience suggested that this rule applied to all men. All of them. Even the decent ones.

"Edward, are you and your brother alright?"

"N-no we're fine Lieutenant!" Ed responded, flustered.

"Are you sure?" She asked, setting her heavy load down gently on the floor.

"Yeah, me and brother are fine!" Alphonse insisted, accidentally bumping Ed and causing him to drop his own box. Full of spare automail parts. Right onto his automail foot. Ed yanked his foot out from under the cardboard box. Not out of pain (obviously), but rather, the fear of damaging his foot.

_Damn… I just got this tuned up last week!_ Ed thought, inspecting his automail. Luckily for him, his metal limb had come out unscathed.

"Whew," Ed gave a sigh of relief.

_One less thing to worry about,_ he thought as he gathered the box back into his arms. _At least I don't have to worry about Winry murdering me today._

"I'm safe for now," Ed muttered quietly to himself.

"What was that Ed?" A voice came from just over his shoulder. Ed jumped, just barely catching himself before he knocked himself over. Spinning around, he found himself looking at Winry's suspicious expression.

"I thought I heard-"

"Nope! It was nothing! I didn't say a thing! Yeah we're ll good here!" Ed's fake enthusiasm only made her eyebrows rise.

"Okaaayyy then…." Winry decided to drop the matter, knowing that this could very well just be another weird phase for him. He did this sometimes; shorted out and acted like an idiot for a few minutes.

Eventually it'd pass. Like always.

Until then, she was going to talk with Miss Riza, who already seemed a little… different since the Colonel had left. Or rather, the soon-to-be Fuhrer.

Just… different. She didn't look unhappy, or depressed. Not like she was about to fall apart at the seams, or crumple in on herself. But the air around her, the way she carried herself… it was different than the night before.

Winry wasn't exactly sure what it was.

But now that they were neighbors… there was loads of time to figure it out.

* * *

After all of the time she'd been spending with Roy recently, Riza hand't realized how strange it was to just talk girl to girl again. She hand't been all alone with just Rebecca and/or Maria in what felt like forever.

Now there was Winry, and even though she was younger than her a considerable amount, the two got along perfectly. (I'm gonna set this so Winry is eighteen and Riza's like… twenty-five, twenty-six, okay? Don't like it, too bad.)

Winry hauled another bag up the stairs, this one full of clothes. Winry unzipped the duffel, and began dumping shirts in drawers.

"I'm so glad you and the boys live here now. This house has been empty ever since I moved to Central City," Riza said, fixing the hinges on the busted door to what would soon be Alphonse's bedroom.

Between the idle chatting, there was comfortable silence as the two worked on. They moved from room to room, filling drawers with clothes and fixing doors.

"Why are boys such idiots?" Winry whined, as she began organizing her tools in her new workroom. She spoke with more freedom, and no filter; now that Ed and Al had left. (One of their beds had broken in the moving truck. A support bar needed replacing.)

Riza laughed, the sound echoing through the halls.

"I've been wondering that my whole life," Riza said, happy to finally have someone she could act as a big sister towards. Maria and Rebecca already knew practically everything there was to know about being a girl. Unless it was about weapons or self defense, Riza didn't have any knowledge to offer that they didn't already posses.

But now with Winry...

"Do they ever grow up?" Winry complained, thinking of all the stupid/concerning stunts Edward had pulled over the years. Less so with Al, because he usually had his head screwed on straight. But with Ed… All those wrenched to the head must've given him brain damage or something.

"Nope," Riza answered confidently, without a hint of doubt. "Sometimes they get a little better, and mature to some extent, but in reality, we just get more tolerant."

(This is how you can tell I'm a girl. The way I not-so-subtly poke fun at the entire male population.)

Winry groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Shit. And here I was, hoping he would spontaneously mature or something…" Winry trailed off, smiling at a memory. "But I guess he wouldn't really be _Ed_ if he was all grown up."

"So Edward, huh?" Winry's fingers gripped the wrench she'd been holding. Riza had sudden;y slipped into the prying older sister, a fact that Winry didn't seem to mind all that much.

_Just… Just thinking about that thick-headed dumbass whose head is denser than lead makes me_ _angry… _

She was practically trembling with anger and sadness, though her getting worked up wasn't the result of something he'd recently done. More like something he _hadn't_ done.

Well, a little bit of both.

She knew she liked him, she'd known for years. Once, a while ago, there'd been a really close call. In Briggs. She figured the cold had been causing him so much pain, and his almost-frostbite probably hadn't helped. She said something, something while leaning in dangerously close.

And he still hadn't mentioned it. There were only two possibilities, because there was no way in hell that he hadn't heard it. Though, moments before he'd had some sort of panic attack.

She figured a) he'd been so delirious in the moment after his little episode that he hadn't really been paying attention or b) he just decided to ignore her and pretend the whole ordeal had never happened.

Throughout her steady stream of thoughts, her fingers tightened around the cold metal until her knuckles started to turn white.

"How long have you had a crush on him?" Riza asked, not looking up from her work.

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Falling._

_Clang._

Winry's hand went slack, and the wrench clattered to the floor.

She stood, frozen, as she stared off in horror.

"I… I- don't-"

Swallow.

"-Know quite what you mean by that," she managed to stammer out.

Riza set her hand on her shoulder. "You can get that past Roy, Ed, and maybe Al. But there's no way I'm buying that crap. I am a girl, Ms. Rockbell-"

"Winry. Call me Winry."

Riza smiled.

"Winry. You can't fool me. C'mon. I promise, my lips are sealed."

Winry cracked.

"Well…."

* * *

The second moving truck had come and gone, meaning that Winry and Riza had put all of the basic necessities had been delivered in the proper places. Bed frames, mattresses, dressers. Big cardboard boxes were stacked up all around the house, as the two slowly but steadily worked through a majority of it.

The sun was already setting; as it began to disappear behind the horizon.

And the boys still weren't back.

"I'm kinda worried," Riza said, looking out the front window in concern. Hoping that the blondes would suddenly emerge from the darkness that had begun to settle over the area.

No such luck.

Winry wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, also turning to look outside. Muttering to herself, she wen to the phone, dialing a number.

"Dammit guys. Where are you?"

* * *

_Ring_

The Colonel lifted the phone up, and brought it to his ear as he continued scanning lines of text. Damn, this was repetitive.

_Ugh, I feel like this is just the same consent form over and over again__…_ Roy mentally groaned as he scribbled his signature yet_ another_ time.

He'd been doing this all day. The. Whole. Freaking. Day.

"Hello?" He spoke into the receiver. "This is Roy Mustang speaking."

"Ummm, Mr. Mustang?" A small voice came from the phone.

"Oh! Ms. Ro- Winry. How are you?" Roy asked politely, now smiling, and in a considerably better mood.

It was nice to finally hear a friendly voice after a long and boring day of paperwork. (Besides, Ed and Al were practically his kids, therefore making Winry a part of the 'family.' Talking with her was actually very nice.)

"I'm- I'm freaking out a little-" She cut off with a tiny sob.

"Winry! Is everything alright?! What happened?!" Roy was standing, leaning over the desk as he yelled. Concern was overwhelming him.

Her sobbing suddenly became muffled, and there was strange noises in the background.

"Roy?" Riza's voice let some of the tension fade from his back and shoulders. He sighed with relief.

_Thank God. She's okay._

"Riza? Riza, what's wrong? Are you and Winry okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. Though, I think Winry might be having a panic attack of some sort. Winry? Are you okay?" A muffled sound that sounded like a confirmation (You know, the 'mmm hhmm' noise you can make when your mouth is closed.) came over the line.

"The boys left a couple hours before lunch to get spare parts. They're still not back," Riza explained.

Winry's worry was consuming her, leaving her biting her nails and glancing over at the door every few seconds.

"We were hoping that they went to the office with you," Winry called at the phone, knowing she'd be heard. Th tinge of desperation in her voice was evident. Her concern over the disappearance of her two best friends was snowballing.

"What? No, I haven't seen them since I dropped you off this morning! What do you think happened?" Riza turned from the phone to alert Winry of this new development.

Now the teenage blonde's worry was manifesting into hysterical panic. Riza offered her the phone, thinking over the possibilities.

"What?! They're not with you? Where could they be? Are they- Do you think that they-" Her breathing grew uneven, making it too hard for her to continue frantically spew out words.

Her eyes rolled back and her eyes fluttered shut.

Reacting a second too late to her heavy breathing, Riza turned just in time to see Winry fall.

Winry dropped to the ground, phone still in hand.

_She fainted!_

"Riza? Winry?"

Too busy to officially end the call, Riza scrambled over to check Winry's head, which had bashed into the floor.

_Crap, I think she's bleeding..._

Hearing no response, Roy slammed down the phone and left the office.

* * *

_(This part is earlier in the day, around lunch time.)_

Al laughed (at something his brother had just said), a bag of wooden beams in one hand. Ed walked next to him, enjoying the sunlight.

Ed stretching his arms out behind him.

"Man, I don't think I'll ever get used to boring days like this," Ed said through a yawn.

"It's been more than a year now, and I still can't believe where we finally ended up," Al said with a somewhat-dreamy smile.

"I know the feeling."

Al walked slightly ahead, as they passed in front of the mouth of an alleyway.

_WHACK_

Al spun around, looking for the source of the sudden noise.

Instead, he set his eyes on nothing.

Literally, nothing.

His older brother had vanished.

_Where did brother go?_

And that was the last sentient thought Al had before something collided painfully with the back of his head, followed by then being dragged down the alleyway alongside his brother's limp form.

* * *

**Hey. **

**So, sorry about the content (because it was WAY crappier than usual), and the delay.**

**I know, I know. I really need to work on brining the quality of my writing back up. It's been a while, and I got a little rusty.**

**Also: I need ideas. **

**So, who do _you_ guys think have something against the Elrics? Someone with enough incentive to hate them enough to openly attack? I haven't really developed that part of the story yet so… I'm just kinda wingin' it so far. **

**I'd love some new ideas, and I really need the help.**

**Bye,**

**-Pyro**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for the support, and I really appreciate my dedicated ****readers.**

**Just a question… how do you guys feel about some filler chapters?**

**(And does anyone have an idea for a name of the Elrics' kidnapper?)**

**This chapter is for:**

**flying mint bunny 77 (really appreciated the suggestions; they were really helpful in the writing of this chapter)**

**Reba-chan**

**Vampirsha518**

**GameLord 4BritishBronies**

**PurpleRose20 ( I give a shout out to anyone who recently favorited _either_ of my two stories)**

**KaylaFlaishans**

**Mrymsyn Vyxn**

**DarkWinxGirl**

**Dash24zappshift**

**Aizawa Li **

**Thanks guys!**

* * *

Winry's head was throbbing.

"Ugh…" she groaned. "What happened?" Looking around (careful not to move her head to fast because _fuck_ that hurt), she sat up in bed. Unfamiliar with her surroundings, she panicked for a second, before seeing a concerned (but friendly) face.

The Lieutenant.

Letting the blurry haze clear from her eyes, she realized she was in her new room. She could tell by the familiar bedsheets and her dresser that had been haphazardly shoved in the corner. (They hadn't had enough time to get to it yet.)

Riza shushed her, and offered her a glass of water.

"You fainted. Your head hit the ground pretty hard, and I think you gave yourself a concussion. Your temple started bleeding, so I bandage your head. I hope you don't mind. How do you feel?"

Winry's head was pounding, but not nearly as bad as the one time she had _actually_ gotten a severe concussion.

"My head still hurts, and I've got a migraine. But from prior experience, I think I just gave myself a minor concussion."

Riza sighed in relief. Looking over the edge of the bed, she saw A pile of blankets and a pillow. All evidence that Riza had stayed the night to look after her.

"Did you sleep on the floor all night? Oh I'm so sorry!" Winry exclaimed.

"It was no problem. I hope you don't mind, but I have Black Hayate here as well. I felt bad leaving him all alone in my house." Riza pointed to the bundle of sleepy-dog that was curled up next to Winry's feet.

"Oh that's perfectly fine! I love dogs! Thank you, for taking care of me. I owe you one. Sorry you had to deal with all of that," Winry said sheepishly.

Riza waved it aside.

"Nonsense. It really wasn't any trouble. Besides, I was happy to help. You and the boys are practically family."

Winry smiled, happy to have found a new friend in this kind person.

However...

"Ed and Al! What happened to them? The still haven't come back? Oh god I-" Winry gasped in pain, holding her hands to cup her forehead. "Ow!"

"Winry! Calm down, okay? You need to heal, and that's not gonna happen if you keep straining yourself. Roy went out with a search party this morning, and they're still looking for them."

"Last night? How long have I been out for?!"

"About twelve hours. It's eight o'clock now."

"WHAT?!"

Winry's shriek was enough to wake up Black Hayate, and four of her new neighbors.

* * *

Roy was furious.

By each passing minute, his anger was growing, until he was trembling with rage. Havoc was watching his commanding officer seethe with anger from behind. Maria followed next to Jean, both with their guns at the ready. Jean was a better shot than Maria, but she skills of deduction were far superior.

They'd gone to the store, and traced their (the Elrics') steps. Apparently a little boy had asked for their signatures, and they'd also helped repair the roof of a flower shop on the way back. (Al, had been the one to actually use alchemy, and Ed had shown him the key points to strengthen, having more experience.)

_"Dammit guys, where the hell did you disappear to?"_ Havoc muttered under his breath. Though they were not as close, they both did care about the well-being of the two teenagers.

As they passed by an alleyway formed by the ending of two buildings, something caught Maria's eye.

Crouching down, she inspected the muddy ground that began as zoo as you stepped forward into the alley..

It was sloshy, thick mud.

_But we haven't had any rain since early yesterday morning..._

The scorching sun hung in the sky, making Maria sweat, even though she was now under the cool shadow of the buildings. Looking off behind her, Maria realized that all the dirt before you entered the alley had been baked dry by the hot sun.

_So why is this spot all wet?_

"Hey Roy," she called over her shoulder, as she prodded the mind with an ungloved finger. "Come look at this." Walking into the narrow passageway, Jean and Roy gathered behind her, peering over her shoulders.

"I don't see anything."

"Me neither."

She began explaining her reasoning.

"Look at this. Yesterday morning it rained, remember?"

"Yeah. I slipped on my way up the stairs to the office and Jean laughed at me for it," he said as he glared that Havoc, who whistled, looking away.

"Well remember how hot is was the rest of the day? And today, look at how hot it is out here. For god's sake we dumped our jackets in the car, and now you two are sweating through your shirts."

It was true, all three had been walking around in just the standard black shirts for their tops.

"Look at this dirt," she said, gesturing to the dry ground behind them. "Even though this whole strip is in the shadows of these two buildings, they should've dried somewhat by now."

Looking ahead, she squinted her eyes to look further down.

"I think someone wet this ground for a reason."

"To cover their tracks," Jean said with a gasp of realization.

"Exactly."

"But how can we be sure that this has anything to do with the disappearance of the two boys?" Roy put the question out there, for everyone to consider.

"I'm not sure. But it's the best lead we've gotten all morning," Roy began talking with Havoc rapidly, letting Maria 'do her thing.' (Everyone knew that she worked best if you gave her some space in the beginning.)

"Jean," she said, a new tremor in her voice. "Give me your water bottle."

Unsure of where this was leading, he chucked it over. Without even glancing up, she caught it with one hand and hurriedly twisted off the cap.

She began pouring the cold water into her cupped hand.

"Hey!" What are you doing?"

She didn't speak, and just continued rubbing something between her fingers.

Muddy water dribbled down to her elbow, but she paid no mind to that.

"Guys, this is definitely the right spot."

"What? How do you know?" Roy rushed over to her.

"This. This is definitely…"

She trailed off, holding something between her thumb and index finger. She raise her hand.

Dangling limply form Maria Ross' fingers was a clump of long, golden blonde hair.

Unmistakably belonging to Edward Elric.

* * *

Black Hayate wagged his tail, running in circles around Winry's legs.

"Black Hayate! Stop it, you're making me dizzy!" She giggled.

"Black Hayate!" He barked up at her, and she rolled her eyes with a smile. The moment of joy faded fast, and she was left feeling drained and scared once again.

Riza knocked on the closer door softly.

"Winry, are you alright?"

"Yeah. You can come in if you want," Winry offered half-heartedly, sitting down not he bed.

Riza came in, dressed for another day. Standard blue military pants (you know, the ones with the butt-cape thing on the back), black t-shirt, and hair pinned back up in her usual clip. Her boots were newly polished, the worn leather shining.

"Winry, is your head alright?"

Winry nodded, pulling her own boots on. Lacing them up, she straightened, adjusting her jacket. She wore a black skirt, a white tank top and a black blazer-like jacket over that. (What she was wearing _many_ times during Brotherhood.)

"I took some pain medication. I'm fine now."

"Winry, I'm going to join the search party. They've found evidence that the boys were taken."

"Let me come!" Winry said, jumping to her feet. "And no matter what out say I'm going to follow. I'm not abandoning my friends."

"Black Hayate, stay," Riza said sternly, accepting Winry's request. Obeying his master's order, he sat.

"Winry, let's go."

Winry stumbled, still not quite stable on her feet. Riza supported her out of the house, but not before Winry grabbed two wrenches and shoved them into her inside pockets. Just as insurance.

"We're going to meet up with the Colonel, and then we're going to find Edward and Alphonse."

* * *

"Colonel!"

Roy whipped around, to find Riza running towards him. He opened his arms, readily taking her in his arms. She jumped into his waiting arms, and he crushed her into him.

"I missed you," he whispered into her ear. "I was so worried that something had happened to you last night when the line went dead. Thanks for calling me back after."

Pulling back, she beamed at him. She turned her head back to see Winry leaning against one of the brick walls that made up the alley.

She rushed over to her, helping her move along. Winry waved her off.

"I'm fine."

"Is your head still bothering you?"

"Winry! Why are you wearing bandages?" Roy asked, concerned.

Both blondes ignore him.

"No, the migraine is fading. It's just really very hot out here," Winry said. "Don't mind me. I'm just gonna rest for a minute, okay? You and Roy- I mean the Colonel," she hastily fixed her mistake, seeing they were not alone. "-should go discuss your evidence or something."

"It's fine," Roy said, chuckling. "We're with friends. No need for those stuffy terms. I'm still just Roy. And besides," he added with a smile at the idea. "I won't really be a Colonel for much longer."

"Right then. Roy, I'm fine. Just worried."

Roy glanced at Riza, and the two seemed to be having a silent conversation. The two seemed to reach an understanding, and Riza then nodded.

"Winry," Roy said, turning to her. "I want to keep you from seeing the bad stuff, and I feel that is is unnecessary for you to see all of our evidence so-"

"I want to see everything," she said shortly. Roy blinked, and Riza smiled. Roy had no ideas what this girl had been through, and the things she could deal with.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"Roy, did you know that Ed had his surgery when he was very young? Only eleven years old?" She asked. Not seeing how this was in any way relevant, he nodded slowly.

"Well I helped perform that surgery, and seal off the injury."

Roy looked at her in shock. He hadn't know that. Havoc's conversation with Maria in the background slowed to a stop, having heard her declaration.

"I have performed several surgeries since then, helped a woman give birth without _any_ professional help, and lost both my parents to the Ishvalan War. There isn't much I can't handle anymore, and I won't have anyone babying me when my two best friends need my help."

She stood, defiantly, as she faced the Colonel.

"Show me what you've got so far."

* * *

Ed cracked one eye open. His head hurt like hell, and he had that weird pins-and-needles feeling in his arms as they started to wake up. The joint in his automail leg was stiff, meaning he'd probably been sitting like this for a while.

'Sitting like this' meaning tied to a chair. Two hands handcuffed to opposite sides of the chair frame, unable to touch. Both feet were shackled together. Looking over to the left, he saw that Alphonse suffered from a similar situation, chains pooled around his ankles. (He couldn't quite tell, seeing as they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. And right now, craning his neck didn't sound particularly fun. The back of his head really hurt, and the crick in his neck made him only more irritable.

He nudged his younger brother with his foot, rousing him from his unconsciousness.

"Wha… Brother, where are we?" Alphonse's voice was weak. "Ugh. I think… I think someone hit me in the back of the neck. And-"

He looked down.

"Why are we tied up?!"

"I don't know."

"All I remember is… we went into town to… um…."

Ed nodded slowly, trying to piece together some useful information.

"Yeah! Remember, when we were passing by this… this uh…" He shook his head. "I don't remember. I remember walking behind you, and then someone hit me in the head."

"I…" He didn't finish his sentence, and irritated look took over his face

"I can't remember."

And with each minute that passed, Al's frustration at himself for not remembering grew. And for one of the first times in the last year, they were scared.

"Brother," he whimpered. "I- I don't… I don't know what to do."

For now, Edward couldn't agree more.

* * *

Winry stormed forward with persistence, head held high. Roy followed closely behind.

It was ridiculous, how she everything in stride with little to no trouble. She was confident in the abilities of her friends, as well as the abilities of Roy's team to recover them. It was flattering, but a little nerve-wracking; knowing that this girl believed in them so much.

She wielded her wrench in one hand, twirling it in her fingers ever so often.

The sun was starting to set; the sky starting to turn a light orange.

Winry's headache had faded to a dull throbbing in the back of her mind, but her determination to find her friends won out over that.

She could just picture them, bleeding and hurt; and that image alone was enough to propel her forward.

God, if anything had happened to those two...

She shook of those thoughts, continuing to follow the trail of dried footprints as the ragtag team wove in between the backs of massive storage units. (yeah, it's very similar to TBOHB, I know. But I didn't have a better idea.)

_"Please be okay guys. Please let them be alright,"_ she whispered to herself, as the sun continued to disappear below the horizon.

* * *

Alphonse neck had a cramp, and Ed's stomach growled loudly.

He was drifting in and out of day dreams, to tired to fully comprehend anything. Everything had a strange, fuzzy quality.

His stomach gave a painful lurch, just as he heard the noises being made by his brother's restless stomach.

_I forgot, with Brother and his appetite, he'll be starving soon!_ Al metally scolded himself for forgetting his older brother's appetite. Even when Al had regained his body, Ed's appetite still remained 'a force to be reckoned with.' Translation: old habits die hard, and while it had started out as sustenance for both him _and_ Al… He still required a lot of food. (And yet he still doesn't gain any weight… Lucky bastard.)

Alphonse knew he could hold out a bit longer than his brother. But judging by the cramps from hell already starting in his stomach, it's had been at least 12 hours since they'd eaten. It would certainly explain the sun's high position in the sky, something clearly seen in the skylight overhead.

The room was spacious than Al expected; in terms of rooms he imagined that were typically used to hold teenagers who'd been kidnapped. The walls were all white, and everything felt unbearably clean and way too organized. Everything in the room was well-worn, and well-cared for. Everything, all the cracks in the wall had been patched up, though clearly not efficiently enough.

Al could generalize this home; easily fit it into a stereotype with a pang of guilt. Until he looked over at his brother, took in his condition. Then… he didn't feel so sorry anymore.

After another moment of examination, he figured why this room was so spacious. This was an old building, probably falling apart and wearing away; if the crumbling structure was anything to go by.

He coughed.

And then wheezed.

Until it turned into a fit of gasping and wheezing. Unintentionally waking up his brother. First his eyebrows pulled together, and he awoke, bleary-eyed.

He was confused for a moment, then concerned.

"Al? Alphonse, what's wrong? Alphonse?!" Ed asked frantically. He rocked the chair, trying to get closer to his brother. Al inhaled sharply, shaking his head. Behind his back, his hands struggled against the ropes tied around his wrists.

His breathing stabilized, and is chest rose and fell steadily.

"I'm… I'm fine. I just think there's a lot of… duct in the air… right now…" Al panted between words. Ed nodded at this explanation, as he continued to supervise his brother's breathing patter fall into a normal routine.

Al's body, while recovering fast, couldn't make up three years of puberty in a year. the regaining strength to even walk on his own and move without assistance had taken months on it''s own. Between being pushed to grow, and trying to recover from (a condition similar to) malnourishment, his body was struggling to keep up.

How to put it… Alphonse was still particularly… fragile. (And more than emotionally this time.)

"Well, well. The princesses have awakened from their slumber. Good morning, _your majesties,_" A mocking voice came from the side.

Unconcerned, Ed looked over.

"Hey. Can you get my brother a glass of water?"

_We'll be out of here in no time, no need to panic,_ a cocky little voice whispered in their heads. Knowingly, they nodes slightly at each other.

_And besides, the Colonel will be out looking for us right now. _Ed thought with a confident smirk. A small feeling of satisfaction bloomed in his chest, seeing the flabbergasted look on the guy's face at the Elrics' unconcerned attitudeI.

_If there's anything I know about Roy..._

Ed recalled the way he'd previously reacted in past situations. How Roy had stayed with every single one of his men, promising to only leave them at a distance where they could- would- catch up to him.

_He'd never abandon anyone on his team._

_And I hope he knows; the feeling is mutual._

And with that, he two boys knew that they were going to be just fine.

The man took a few step closer, a cruel look taking over his face.

"I don't think so. _I'll_ be making the orders here. You two answer to _me._ I'M IN CHARGE HERE!" The man bellowed towards the end of his tirade.

They could have sworn that the very walls shook.

One glance at the other, and the Elrics knew that the best way to deal with this situation was to be quite.

And silently plot their escape route.

Or, play stupid.

Cocking his head to the side, Alphonse stared at the man. He stood straight, his back perfectly perpendicular with the ground. He stood with an air of dignity, holding himself in a way that clearly showed that he'd once had a position of authority.

_He looks __familiar…_ Alphonse mused silently, trying to place this face. With a sound of agreement coming from his brother, he realized he'd spoken aloud.

"Yeah… now that you mention it…" Ed scrunched up his nose in thought.

"Military," Al concluded. "You were in the military."

"Yeah… I know you!" Ed chimed in, now recognizing this guy who looked seriously unamused. "

"You served under-" Ed's face twisted. "Bradley."

"Oh… I remember you now…" Al said with disgust (which, as you all know, is rare for him.) "You were loyal to Bradley. We fought you on the Promised Day."

"Hey wait, weren't you arrested?"

"I almost was," he managed to admit with a sneer. "Thanks to you two brats. But I slipped away in the commotion, after you killed King Bradley, the rightful ruler of Amestris."

"Hey! We weren't even the ones who killed him!" Al protested.

"It doesn't matter! Either way, he was killed because of your meddling! This is your fault!" He said, pointing an accusing finger at them.

"You deserve to die."

Ed's cocky look faltered; and he glanced over at his brother.

No way was he losing Al.

"But… You deserve to suffer even more… that's not enough. That's too good for you. You ripped away the greatest leader this country had ever seen."

"He was a psycho! He wanted to kill everyone for his own personal gain!"

"Sacrifices sometimes have to be made for the greater good," he sniffed haughtily.

"And were you ready to became one of those sacrifices? How did you feel about having your soul ripped away; being used as a fuel for a power-hungry overlord?"

"I was going to be one of the survivors; Bradley was going to give me power and you ripped that away from me!" He roared. He quickly reeled himself in, letting a chuckle escape his lips.

"But now… now you're going to understand the pain I felt! It's YOUR turn to suffer!"

"I've lead your precious little friends here, and soon they'll find us. _They'll_ pay for your mistakes." He smiled with contentment. "How fitting that I shall encounter the Fuhrer-to-be on my trip for revenge on behalf of the greatest Fuhrer ever. As well as his little sidekick."

Ed and Al burst out laughing. Their shoulders shook with the effort to hold back the guffaws.

"Oh that's rich! You think you even stand a chance against the Flame Alchemist and The Hawk's Eye! Oh, that's the best thing I've heard ever!"

"Funny… I don't recall saying they were my targets."

The laughter slowly died out.

"I could beat that bastard in his sleep. His desperate blonde too." Ed rolled his eyes at the man's egotistical assumption. No way in hell.

"Maybe not both at once, but they'll be in a defensive stance. What kind of idiots take along a useless civilian to an investigation? Though it's lucky for me; they're just dragging my target much closer to me. Sure makes my life easier."

Ed didn't get it.

Al clearly didn't either.

He smiled, lips curling back at their reactions. Or, what he knew they would be.

"What a shame… looks like you'll soon be in need of a new mechanic."

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry about the delay….**

**I don't have an excuse...**

**Anyway, I hate to say this, but I might have to change my posting schedule to one every other week (i.e. once every two weeks.)**

**I really need name ideas so please...**

**Leave any suggestions in the reviews, and I'll be sure to take them into consideration.**

**-Pyro**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**Hey guys! So, this time, I have a legitimate reason for not updating for so long...**

**I might've accidentally killed my computer... Which is kind of ruining my life right now. Seriously, I didn't realize how important my computer was in my everyday life until this happened. **

**Unfortunately, that means I have to write everything from now on through my phone. Which takes FUCKING forever... **

**So, I'm sorry about the delay, and I promise to try and update whenever I can (Sorry to say though, that might be a lot less often now; with the whole broke computer thing. Have you ever tried to type out a** **fanfic chapter that's around 3,000 words long with your thumbs? Cause damn, it's kinda hard.)**

**So this chapter is dedicated to:**

**DarkWinxGirl**

**flying mint kitty 77**

**maiaraiadette**

**crazyhpcfan**

**Purple-Soda-Art (THANK YOU SO MUCH! Even if your comments were all on TBOHB I really appreciate the support and your opinions.)**

**I really am grateful for the help from all of you (especially flying mint kitty 77), because man, I had absolutely no clue how to carry on from the last chapter.**

* * *

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Ed snarled, lunging forwards, his restraints forgotten. He was jerked back painfully by the metal cuffs on both hands. He would have winced, if fury hadn't been coursing through every vein in his body.

"Don't you go any where near her," he said in an ominous tone, one that promised pain if his command was disobeyed. "Don't you fucking dare. If you even come close enough to breathe the same air as her I will have to second thoughts about hurting you."

Ed bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

Alphonse, always the optimistic, tried to push aside his instinctual concern.

"As if you could even come close to her," Al said with a certain confidence. "Right now she'd with the strongest group of people in all of Amestris. Hawkeye, Havoc, Ross, and Hughes," Al said, careful to mention their names in a way that this man would surely recognize.

Their kidnapper froze. He'd forgotten that it wouldn't be just the two (Roy and Riza). There would be others too.

But even in spite of this fact, the man smiled.

_All I have to do... is make one lucky shot. _He thought. Though, it seemed as if he was really just trying to convince himself more than anything else as this point.

He straightened, trying to appear unfazed.

Clearly, by Al's doubtful expression, he wasn't doing a very convincing job.

"Whatever," Ed said impassively after a few seconds. Though his anger was still clearly prominent, he really had no confidence in this guy's plan. "Its not like you'll ever find her. She could be anywhere in Central when they come get us. What'll you do then? Anyway, it's your funeral either way. I just hope you're ready for the receiving end of The Colonel's gloves. It's pretty brutal. Definitely too much for a guy like you to handle." Ed said, remembering several times when he'd seen Roy truly unleash his fury.

"I have methods of finding things out that I want to know just a bribe here, a threat there and I'll have Ms. Rockbell in my hands in now time."

Again, they seemed impassive at the words that promised pain towards their friend's impending pain. But on the inside, they were now more than slightly unsettled.

"I have a name you know," he sniffed indignantly. "My name is-" Ed cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Doesn't matter either way, seeing that you'll be a forgotten pile ash soon enough." Miles seemed thoroughly offended by their assumptions. Even outnumbered, he could beat those stupid, over-glorified officers.

"I'm ready for that bastard. His flames have nothing on what I'll dish out on you little girlfriend."

Ed's ears turned red.

"Wha-what?!" He spluttered. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Brother, is now really the time for that?"

"But don't you worry... I'll try and include everyone in my little revenge plan... If I have the time, maybe I'll try and squeeze in a attention for Mustang's blonde."

* * *

"We have a lock on the warehouse's location," Riza was informed by Maria.

"Good," Riza said with a nod. (They're back in the office, forgive me for making them speak in a more formal manner.) "We should try and get them out as soon as possible. Besides," she said, jerking her head in Winry's direction. "I don't think Ed's girlfriend is handling the separation too well so far."

* * *

Roy was practically sweating buckets at this point. The hot sun was beating down on his entire team, but they refused to give in and go home without the Elrics.

He'd totally abandoned his military jacket. Now he worked in a white dress shirt (Y'know... the one he was always wearing under the stuffy blue jacket...), his standard military boots and pants. He'd rolled up his sleeves as far as they'd go, and his gloves had been haphazardly stuffed in his pants pocket.

He stood leaning against on of the walls of the alley, speaking quietly with Havoc and Winry.

Riza walked over to them, also having abandoned her jacket. She wore the tight-fitting black t-shirt, the belt holding her gun holsters slung low on her hips. She began adjusting them as she spoke to the Colonel.

"We've located the boys. We're still deciding on a plan of action; seeing as we're not sure who captured the boys, and why. We don't know how far they're willing to go, or if they'll hurt either of them," she said calmly as she struggled to adjust the strip of material. Her hands were slippery with sweat, something contributing to her inability to complete the simple task. Havoc simply laughed, and Riza rolled her eyes. Roy smiled, and proceeded to fix it for her.

Winry smiled, her spirits lifted by this bit of news.

(That, and the Colonel, or rather, Roy was being a complete gentleman.)

"We've found them?!" Winry asked, her anticipation to see her best friends growing. "And they haven't been injured?! How do you know?!"

"We had an operative scope out the area." Riza began explaining, trying to quickly put Winry's worries to rest. "From what they overheard, the boys are still alive and breathing. Though, they also overheard that the man who took them was a loyalist to Bradley."

Roy's fingers, which had been working on tightening Riza's belt, froze.

His whole body went rigid

"You don't think it could have been Miles Bennet and Samuel Grile, do you?"

* * *

"Miles Bennet and Samuel Grile were loyal officers to King Bradley," Riza explained while Roy paced around the opening of the alleyway. He was furiously making wild hand gestures at (No, not to. _At_ him.) Havoc, who was doing a decent job of keeping up.

Winry nodded, now understanding at least why Roy had reacted so strongly at first.

But looking back over at him, Winry started to wonder if that was it.

"Why is Roy so worked up over it though?" She asked. Riza shrugged.

"He's just being melodramatic," she said dismissively. "He's totally overreacting. Bennet shot at me during the commotion of the Promised Day. Roy apparently still hasn't forgotten. Oh, that and Grile offered me drink once. Roy was upset over it back then. I guess I know why now.'

"He was a womanizer! He was a complete jerk and would hit on anything wearing a skirt that was breathing!" Roy exclaimed as he stormed over to Riza. He hugged her possessively.

"I knew he was bad from the start!" Roy snarled. "And then he had the audacity to ask you out on a date!"

"I mean to be fair, you were picking up girls right and left like he did," Riza pointed out. "At least most of your 'dates' were just cover from Madame Christmas' bar."

She ruffled his hair with a grin.

"But it's cute to see you jealous for once."

Riza's teasing was probably the only thing that kept him sane that afternoon.

Because roughly ten minutes after this little exchange, they set off for the warehouse, guns at the ready.

And after much debate and arguments from every member of the team, Winry Rockbell stood amongst them.

* * *

Ed was getting impatient.

Mustang was taking his sweet time, and now his foot had fallen asleep. He grimaced at the uncomfortable pins and needles sensation.

This idiot, this Bennley or whatever was really very annoying. He'd boasted about how exactly he would beat the Colonel, and what would come after. While he wasn't very smart or realistic, he was quite funny to listen to.

Ed sighed when he heard a door being broken down. _Goddamit Roy. It's about time. _Alphonse raised his eyebrows. He glanced down at an imaginary watch on his wrist with slight amusement.

"He's late," Ed said flatly. "And I have to use the bathroom."

"Boys!" They recognized Riza's voice shouting, though it was muffled by the walls. "We're coming for you! Hold tight!"

"Yeah guys! Just hang on for a bit longer!" Came a recognizable voice. It was full of determination and underlying strength. And as Ed and Al's faces betrayed their feelings disbelief and panic, Bennett knew he had them cornered.

Judging by their expressions, he had a pretty good guess of who had just called out for the two boys.

His lips curled back into a disgusting smile.

"Well well, looks like I get to save a little time and effort."

Al looked nauseous. Though, Ed had him beaten in that area for the moment.

"Show time."

He paused, before continuing.

"By the way, I really should've mentioned it before. I have a couple of my 'friends' scattered around the building. Sure would be a shame if they ran into your little 'rescue party' before Mustang can save you..."

* * *

Winry peeked around a corner cautiously. Seeing nothing, she waved over at Havoc.

"Over here!" She whispered urgently. The team had been finding nothing but dead ends since they'd arrived. Ever curved hallway they'd followed, had eventually ended with just a wall. It was almost like... some sort of maze. but now, right in front of her, there was a single, unopened door.

He lightly padded over to where she was, and followed her line of sight.

"Nice!" He said, slowly inching towards the door. "Colonel!" He called over his shoulder. "Come one, Ms. Rockbell over here found us a potential entrance!"

No response.

"Huh," he said, baffled by their absence. "I could have sworn they were just behind us." He shrugged.

"Looks like we'll-"

_CRACK_

The butt of a gun came rushing down to meet Havoc's head. He went down hard, falling to the floor.

Winry shrieked, and looked up to meet the cold eyes of her attacker. Dark circles that looked as merciful as those of a great white shark. (I promise, this is just figurative language. i have nothing personal against sharks.)

"Well, now. Looks like I've found myself a little songbird. He smiled, making Winry want to hurl. His eyes were searching her, making her feel something far past the boundaries of uncomfortable.

"Why don't yo using for me, little girl?" He asked, wanting to hear her scream. After all, what better motivation for the rest of that Flame bastard's team? Winry was trembling, and the man smirked.

_Looks like someone's getting scared..._

However, when she looked up, she didn't look scared. He cheeks were red, and her eyes were screwed shut with fierce anger.

She was furious.

Winry, faster than this man's eyes could follow, raised her hand, and threw all of her weight down.

With a sickening crunch, her wrench connected with his skull. He howled in pain, and brought his hands up to try and contain it. A blow to the back of his knees was his downfall. Literally. As he lay on the ground, writhing in agony, Havoc's hand still remained in the air, from when he'd slammed it into this man's leg.

"Thanks, Ms. Rockbell. I owe you one. And I won't play dead for so long next time, alright?"

"No problem. Besides, I think I handled that well enough. Now," she said, hoisting him to his feet. He was nursing a large red welt on his head. Even though he was standing steadily on his feet, Winry wasn't sure how long that would last.

"Let me look at your head." Havoc didn't argue, as he was actually beginning to feel a bit dizzy.

"Then, let's find everybody else. Once we get Ed and Al, we're getting get the hell out of here. Agreed?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

While Riza and Roy had gone in, along with Jean and Winry, Maria and Kain stood guard at the doors. They made sure no one else got in, and no on got out.

Right about now, Roy was very glad that they'd made that decision. The last thing that they needed right now was to lose yet another person in this goddamned maze of a building.

Riza stood behind him, making sure that no one was following them. Or worse, if someone were to attack them. In other words, she was watching Roy's back. As usual.

He scouted ahead, squinting to try and spot something, anything that might be a danger to them. Nothing.

When a man came rushing out at them from the front, Roy didn't even bat an eye as he set the man on fire. Just enough to incapacitate him, and nothing more. He wasn't planning on being responsible for anyone's death today.

Riza, unfazed, stepped around the twitching figure on the floor.

A few minutes later, when a door to their left suddenly opened, Riza was ready. She shot him in the hand, and knocked him out with her fist before he could even say a word.

Needless to say, the two impeccable officers made on unbeatable team.

They continued wandering the building, taking out a new enemy every couple minutes or so.

And finally, they stumbled upon an injured Havoc, and a teenage girl wielding a wrench.

Roy held back a laugh at her weapon of choice. though, as he took a closer look at it, he noticed...

"Good to see you two are still fine, more or less. Are you alright Jean?" He nodded.

"I'll manage, Colonel. lucky for me, I had ms. Rockbell to protect me." Winry flushed four shades of red and sputtered how she'd just been in the right place at the right time.

"Say, Ms. Winry, that wouldn't happen to be blood on your wrench, would it?" Roy asked nervously. Riza gave an inward smile. This girl really had an inner fire. Though this was something Riza had suspected already. How would she have kept Ed in line all these years? (Al, he was another story. He didn't need quite as much scolding.)

Winry laughed nervously.

"You bet it is. If it hadn't been for her, I'd probably be in some serious shit right about now. She took down these two guys before they could even draw their guns," Havoc said. "Lucky for us. What kind of idiot goes into a battlefield with their weapons still sheathed?"

Roy quickly tried to banishing his new-found fear/respect for Winry. Finally succeeding in pushing it out of his mind, he gathered enough composure to propose a new battle plan.

Too bad Riza beat him to it.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do. First off, no splitting up, do you understand me? i don't know how we got split up last time, but that's not happening again. We can't afford to lose anyone." She checked to make sure they agreed. They (obviously) did. "Next, we are going to try and remember what hallways we've already been through, They all look practically identical, so this might be hard. I suggest we try marking the walls, or maybe the floors"

They we're clearly following the Lieutenant's thought process, so she continued.

"Next, we find the Elrics, and get this case wrapped up by sunset. No injuries, and don't do anything irrational, reckless, or stupid, you got that?" they all now turned to look at Roy.

"Hey! Why are you all looking at me?! I'm not the only one here who gets a little irrational in the midst of a fight!" Riza, ashamed, hung her head. Roy knew they were both thinking of the same exact thing now. Or rather, the same event.

_If anything happens to me, you had better not break on me like you did that day,_ Roy thought solemnly. Even the voice in his head was serious, and left no room for argument.

_No matter what happens, you'd better stay strong. You'd better fight it, fight the sadness and get up. You can't give up, just because I'm gone. That is unacceptable, and I won't allow it. Not now, and not ever._

_I will not tolerate you to cry anymore_

Riza, however, was thinking along completely different lines.

_I won't cry this time Roy. Because this time, you're not going to get hurt. I will keep you safe, because I failed to do so last time._

_And that's a promise I intend to keep._

For just a second, the circle in her eyes were illuminated, and Riza silently made a vow that she promised to never break.

Even if it killed her.

* * *

**So...**

**I'M SORRY I KNOW I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE UPDATED SOONER I'M SORRY!**

**Whew. Now that that's out of the way...**

**I really do apologize, but typing this chapter out on my phone has been exhausting...**

**Missed you all and I'm really sorry,**

**-Pyro**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**Hey guys! So, I know I told you I broke my computer, and I'd be posting chapters less often. Well, that's true. My laptop died, (maybe it was my fault...) and I'm trying to get it fixed.**

**But while that remains true... I'm going to try and post longer chapters from now on, okay? Is that compromise that's somewhat decent?**

**So this chapter goes out to:**

**Droid0ps**

**Dash24zappshift (Sorry I haven't gotten back to you in a while. Miss you!)**

**LunaEstellaHarmony**

**flying mint kitty 77 (Everyone be grateful to this person! They helped with the plot of the last two chapters, and I would have been completely stuck without them!)**

**Elizabeth Hawkeye Mustang**

**Raina Halcyst**

**ReadingAddiction99**

**Fictionxrality**

**So, sorry for the delay and I promise I'll try harder to get my chapters out from now on... **

**(Okay before you read this: I'm sorry about the end of this chapter. I really hope I don't traumatize someone with this shit...)**

* * *

The moment that Riza finished making her vow to protect Roy, her face was set with determination. A certain determination that Havoc recognized.

If he knew anything about Riza, it was that she was fucking stubborn. When she had made up her mind, and put her foot down...

There was no stopping her. You had a better chance of resurrecting the dead than you did changing her mind.

She drew each gun from their holsters around her hips, and proceeded to reload both of them on at a time.

Havoc began to do the same.

Winry simply stood, as Roy began clarifying certain aspects of the plan.

"So, Havoc, I want you to serve as a distraction. You and me, if we can move their attention to us, then Riza can sneak by as we enter. I'll blow up the doorway, and the dust should serve as good enough cover for Riza to slip by, unnoticed. Winry," he said, and she turned her attention to him.

"Stick by my Lieutenant. She'll keep you out of harm's way. End of story," Roy finished, making it clear that he was not willing to negotiate. She swallowed, and nodded.

"Lieutenant," he said suddenly. She stopped loading her guns immediately and face him, the way a perfect soldier was expected to react when a commanding officer called them. Her eyes met his.

"Keep your eyes open. Watch my back, like you always do."

She nodded.

"Ready guys?"

* * *

Ed had been contemplating whether or not he would skin Roy for letting Winry tag along, or simply beating the shit out of him. Ed sighed, realizing that Winry had somehow demanded her way onto this little rescue mission.

She'd always had a certain way with words.

And just as he was opened his mouth to speak, the front door exploded.

* * *

It never amazed Riza, the amount of power Roy could unleash with just the snap of his fingers.

Well, now that she held the same ability, it seemed less impossible. But it always intrigued her, how his eyes narrowed, and his shoulders tensed. How he flicked out his wrist, a gesture perfected with years of practice.

How he still managed to look so devastatingly in control of the fire he held.

Riza was no fool. She knew her potential power was much, _much_ greater than Roy's. But she also knew that Roy definitely had better control than she did. He had the restraint, to reel the flames back if things got out of hand.

With Riza, that wasn't the case. Her and the flames, they were one and the same. She had to have perfect control over herself to completely dominate the fire. Roy didn't carry that burden. And for that, Riza was glad.

It was a heavy one, that she seemed to be thinking about more and more often nowadays.

As soon as the rubble was flung into the air, Riza dashed, holding the hand of Winry Rockbell as she dragged her along.

There was a man, standing in front of the Elrics that Riza recognized with a foul taste in her mouth.

Bennet.

He definitely hadn't spotted them yet, as they dashed for cover. Roy had captured his complete attention, as he threw a wave of fire in his direction.

Riza smirked.

_Roy's going easy on him._ She noted as she crouched behind the forms of the two boys.

For whatever reason, Roy was dulling the flames. Ed watched as he easily dodged a bullet that had gone in his direction by steeping to the side.

This revealed Havoc, who didn't hesitate to shoot right back.

But approaching from behind, Al spotted another figure.

A man stealthily creeping up on Havoc.

"Behi-" Al's warning hadn't reached Havoc's ears fast enough.

The man simply brought his hand down on his neck, and Jean Havoc crippled to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Roy spun, just in time to face the man who'd knocked out his backup.

And in his hands, he triumphantly held up his weapon of choice, knowing he'd just won.

He pulled down the trigger.

Water came spewing out of the nozzle of the gardening hose.

Roy was thrown back a good for feet, and he struggled to keep himself on his feet against the force of the water.

Riza had to admit; it certainly was an effective technique. It was something so simple, she was surprised no one had thought of it before.

Well, their whole plan had just been thrown out the window.

Time for Plan B.

Riza whispered over to Winry, instructing her to release the boys.

She'd handle the rest on her own. Winry nodded, and carefully keep out of sight behind the boys.

Bennet cackled gleefully, happy that he' finally caught Roy Mustang. Roy, finally out of strength, collapsed, coughing up water. His partner eased his finger on the trigger for the high-pressure hose and the water slowed to a trickle.

Riza smiled. They'd both let their guard down completely. Now was her chance. Using the back of Alphonse's chair, she vaulted over the two boys, landing gracefully in front of them in a protective stance. Also, in the process of doing so, she managed scare the shit out of them both.

Hands steady, she fired calmly at Bennet's partner, clipping him in the leg. He went down hard, holding his leg in pain. Bennet whirled around, and reacted almost instantly.

He'd calculated his chances of winning, and his best option was...

His hand, shaking with a tremor that was barely noticeable, took aim. Even with his unsteady hand, Riza knew he wouldn't miss at a target so close.

Roy Mustang, who lay panting by his feet, coughing up water.

She tensed, and immediately closed her eyes, inner conflict clearly raging on inside of her. Bennet watched this with a certain amusement, knowing he had her caught.

_I promised._

She sighed, and lowered the gun.

_The bullet would reach him first._

She knew the protocol. She reluctantly dropped it, and kicked it over. He raised her eyebrows at her, and she growled. She took the other from her holster and chucked it at his feet.

Bennet smiled, satisfied. Roy resembled a fish out of water at this point, gasping on the floor.

"The Colonel!" Ed exclaimed after breaking out of the shock that had consumed him when he'd seen Riza seemingly appear out of nowhere over his head.

"He can't breathe!"

Riza didn't bother waiting for permission. She dashed over to him, kneeling at his side. Startled by her sudden movement, Bennet fired.

"LIEUTENANT!"

Riza cried out, falling next to her commanding officer. Winry screamed. Ed jumped, and Al let out a scream that nearly rivaled Winry's in pitch.

She'd stood, coming out of her hiding place. Her eyes were wide, and her lip trembled as she stared at Riza, who lay on the ground.

Bennet's eyes were huge; as he hadn't meant to actually fire. But as soon as the scream of a female that had _definitely_ not come from Riza registered in his mind, he knew.

"Well, well! The guest of honor has finally arrived!" He exclaimed. He waved his gun around in a carefree manner that made Edward more nervous than he'd like to admit.

On the floor, Roy had gathered enough strength to partially sit up, and was still hacking up water on the ground next to him, facing away from Riza.

Bennet took pleasure in stepping over Riza to kick him squarely in the chest, which sent him right back down, gasping. Miles stepped back, satisfied, and turned back to the terrified blonde mechanic he'd been keeping tabs on for what felt like forever.

Riza had been shot in the back of her leg, and was trying to muffle her screaming (caused partly by the excruciating pain, and her fury at the pain he'd inflicted upon the Colonel) by keeping her teeth clenched and her mouth closed.

She stood, slowly, and managed to place herself effectively as a shield in front of the Colonel, who was beginning to compose himself. Leaning most, if not all her weight on her uninjured leg.

He slicked his hair back, wheezing as his vision began to clear.

Bennet, no longer caring about the Colonel, turned back to his prize.

"Good morning," he said without turning around. "Welcome back."

Riza winced in pain again, as she tried to reach into her pocket to give Roy the spare gloves she always had. No such luck. There was no way for her to throw them to him that would go unnoticed by Miles.

Also, if she tossed the unconscious man the pair of gloves, what could would that do?

She tried to tell him.

"Roy," she hissed through gritted teeth. Left pocket."

He lifted himself to his feet, half understanding her command, only to stumble and fall again. He was barely holding onto his string of consciousness as it was. Almost-drowning wasn't exactly something that one immediately recovered from.

His kept wheezing, and Riza knew she had to hurry up.

Roy was weakening, and Winry could _die_.

"Looks like you're out of backup," Bennet said, almost teasingly.

Like he was bragging. As if he assumed he'd won. Seems like this idiot _clearly_ had never fought this particular duo before.

"Sorry about that," he said with a shrug as his gun settled in Winry's direction.

_Dammit._

Ed was thrashing against his restraints, and Alphonse was yelling, screaming for her to run.

_SNAP_

The flames engulfed Miles Bennet, and he shrieked, dropping the gun. His skin had been charred by the burst of fire that had swallowed him whole.

Ed smiled.

"COLONEL, YOU BASTARD, DON'T PLAY DEAD FOR SO LONG NEXT TIME!" Ed said happily with a whoop. "Swear to god Roy, next time I'm gonna-"

When Miles dropped the floor, the person standing victorious behind him was _not_ Colonel Roy Mustang.

Instead Riza stood, bare hand out, in a position Roy had often been left in when his flames cleared.

She growled, a wild fire in her eyes, when she lashed out again, not caring about the sharp pain that shot through her leg when she lashed out again.

_Snap_

A wave of flames blossomed from her fingertips, a gesture mimicked perfectly. A gesture they'd seen performed so many times, but now that they watched it again, the two Elrics were left dumbfounded. They knew that move. They'd practically memorized it exactly, from all the times Roy had saved their sorry asses.

Riza couldn't reign in her anger, her fury. She couldn't just throw a pair of gloves off to stop like Roy could. She could keep burning and burning and burning...

Her eyes were narrowed into slits, and now it became obvious that the fire was coming from somewhere other than her fingertips. Seeing as she'd stopped snapping, yet fires kept bursting from thin air to hit Miles.

She gained control over her emotions, just enough to redirect the fire. The flames licked at her skin now, harmlessly dancing across her body. Pouring out of her, Riza's supply of anger eventually began to exhaust itself.

The flames still burned at the same size, but now with less intensity. The flames had been brighter and hotter than Edward, Alphonse, and Winry had ever seen. The flames, for a few moments, had been blue and white, hot enough to raise the whole room to a sweltering temperature in a matter of seconds.

Now they had cooled to red and orange, and Riza visibly relaxed. (For all of you who don't know, blue is technically hotter than red. For example, with stars and shit.) She was engulfed in a blanket of fire, and was rapidly calming herself down.

Ed, who had been staring at this woman he'd know for _years,_ was startled when she spoke to him. Behind him, Winry was undoing the things that bound him to the chair. (Good thing she brought a crap ton of tools with her everywhere she went... Just do me a favor and pretend that it makes sense.)

"Ed," she said tiredly. "Call and ambulance."

And with that, she crumpled to her knees next to the Colonel, biting back her hatred and letting the self loathing take over, consuming her like her flames had just done moments ago.

* * *

Edward literally had no words.

Absolutely.

None.

The Colonel, now done with his coughing/drowning/choking fit, looked around blearily. He rubbed his neck, and tried to speak. His throat was raw from the coughing, and he had to clear his throat several times.

"Riza," he said, his voice raspy. "What happened?"

Riza smiled, and for the first time ever, Ed noticed her eyes were.. gleaming...?

_Are those tears?!_

Al, as always, was thinking along the same lines as his brother

_The Lieutenant... She's not crying is she?!_

Winry, hands still trembling, successfully managed to take off Al's bonds. He began working on his feet, and quickly had himself completely free. He shook his ankles out, moaning as the feeling of freedom.

Hands free as well, Ed was having a hard time undoing his feet.

But when Winry started to sob, and collapsed on Alphonse, Ed couldn't get out of the chair any faster. He leapt up, gracefully landing on two feet.

Winry was sobbing, much like Riza just a few feet over.

Though, for two very different reasons.

"Dead... We could have _died_, guys. Our lives could have ended right here and now if not for..." Her head swiveled to look over at the Lieutenant. She was having what seemed to be her equivalent of an emotional breakdown.

She was crying client tears, biting down on her lip.

_I lost control._

_I almost completely lost it._ She was leaning over him now; trying to gauge if he was truly okay.

He craned his neck up, to look at her. Immediately alarmed when tears started landing on his face, he sat up. He looked at her, pulling her to him.

"What's wrong?! What happened to Bennet?"

She broke down completely, shaking with quiet sobs that racked her whole body. The pain in her lower leg was becoming unbearable, as she kept moving, but at this rate, she couldn't tears were pouring out of her eyes, as the hormones started taking over.

"Yeah Roy, good question. What the actual fuck just happened to Bennet? All of that, what was that? The Lieutenant just torched a guy, something I _know_ only one person in the room is capable of doing. And that whole lighting herself on fire thing? Did I miss something? When did she become a human torch? And did she just miraculously mater fire alchemy in the span of about half a second? What the hell is going on Roy?" Ed snapped, his questions bursting out.

Roy waved aside his questions, though the glance he gave him promised he'd answer them soon enough. Right now his priority was figuring out what the hell had happened while he'd been unconscious.

"Over there," she said. Roy nodded in understanding, with a glance over at the man on the floor. "We're okay. Winry and the boys are unhurt."

"No, things are _not_ fine! The Lieutenant's been shot!" Alphonse burst out, still trying to calm Winry, who was growing more hysterical by the minute.

Roy's head whipped back to Riza, who looked down guiltily at her fingers.

"Riza! Maybe you should start with that first next time!"

"Whoops," Riza said, in a manner that didn't sound very apologetic. "I was shot in the back of my lower leg. Forgot to mention."

"RIZA!"

He was cradling her, lowering her into a position on the floor where she was lying down. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly Roy. Shouldn't someone go check on Havoc or something? He got his pretty hard."

Alphonse rushed over to him without a word. Riza tried to move.

"Ow," she said, surprised. She had't been actually shot before, or at least, not in a long time. Maybe shot at, but she couldn't recall a time where she'd been hit. "That really hurts."

"Oh, you think? That's what happens when you get shot!"

* * *

Riza sat in a hospital bed, as Roy scowled down at her.

Looking at the machinery around her and the IV taped to her arm, she suspected the reason she wasn't experiencing throbbing in her leg was because of morphine.

She knew this room. She'd been here before and it was a recovery room for patients who-

_Oh, I remember now. I was shot._

"Surgery? Was I hurt _that_ bad?"

_But before that I- Shit. _

_I lost control_

"Yes," Roy replied shortly. "But that's not as important right now."

"Dammit Riza, why the hell do you always have to throw yourself in front of me as soon as you sense any danger? I'm a big boy; I can handle a little trouble."

He bent down to make eye contact. She closed her eyes, and pursed her lips. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she kept her posture nearly perfect. (I mean, how perfect can it really get when you're seated in a hospital bed? Let's be realistic here...)

"I'm sorry," she said in a calm, quite voice, trying to focus on one thought. She tried to push the guilt out, block all thoughts of how she'd nearly lost herself in her own fire. "I know I promised I'd stop. But it's just hard for me, you know? It's automatic; like breathing. It's been my life's goal for the past few years. I can't just push my instincts; that's what's kept both of us alive this long."

Roy sighed, plopping down on the chair by her bed. He exhaled deeply into his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

"Riza," he muttered. "Stop doing this to me. Please." When she looked over at him, his eyes were pleading. "I can't just keep watching you throw yourself in front of me like a human shield all the time. It's actually, physically painful."

Riza took a moment to look at hime for a moment. Really, really look at him.

The areas of skin under his eyes were bruised purple, and his hair was disheveled from the times he'd tugged at it in distress.

"I'm sorry," she said.

But looking even closer, she noticed something was definitely wrong. He was pale, and he seemed to be kind of... weak.

Noticing her concerned look, he laughed and waved her off.

"I'm fine," he said somewhat airily. "I'm just kind of-"

"Oh!" Came a feminine voice from the doorway. A nurse had just entered, holding a glass in one hand and a napkin in the other. She hurriedly strode over to Roy, handing him the glass.

_Orange juice?_

Roy gratefully took the cup, and the napkin she offered him. Wrapped inside, there was... was that a cookie?

"Colonel Mustang!" The nurse scolded him, not caring in the moment about his rank. "You weren't supposed to be walking around yet! You were supposed to wait for your blood sugar to fully replenish!" Roy had the decency to at least look sheepish.

"Usually we don't even allow people to donate so much, but for you, we made an exception, seeing the state of the Lieutenant." Wagging her finger at him once more, after she'd waited and watched him take a bite of his cookie before leaving.

_Roy, you idiot._

Chewing silently, he waited for the scolding to begin again. Surprisingly enough, it never did.

All he got was Riza leaning alarmingly far out of her bed to kiss him on the head. After grabbing her forearm securely to make sure she didn't fall, he looked up at her, and unspoken question in his eyes. She just sighed, and let him ease her back safely onto her bed.

"I wish you wouldn't do things like that," Riza said almost mournfully. "I hate that you do so much for me. I'd rather you not risk your health like that." Roy opened his mouth immediately to protest.

_Me? Is she complaining about me risking MY health? This woman, I swear-_

"But that would be unreasonable," Riza added, gazing off at nothing. "Seeing as I've done the same thing. So let's make a deal," Riza said, turning to look at Roy.

"I'll stop throwing my life around as a shield if you stop going behind my back and making my job even harder. Okay?"

Roy pretended to consider it for a second. He tapped his chin.

"Let's see..."

He smiled.

"I think that that's a deal I can accept."

* * *

Maes nearly ended up in the hospital himself when he heard what had happened.

And had then proceeded to nearly break down the hospital doors as he barreled through the halls.

"ROY! IS RIZA OKAY? WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL MEEEE?" Means whined loudly, nearly waking Riza, who was resting in her bed. She stirred, eyelids fluttering.

Roy smacked him in the back of the head.

"If you wake her," Roy hissed in his ear, "I will personally kill you and enjoy every minute of it."

Mase gulped.

"Heh. Well then, I think I'll just-"

"...mmmh."

Riza's head jerked to the side, as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Mmm..." Roy glanced over at Maes, his solemn look promising consequences if he dared to even _breathe_ loud enough for her to hear.

Riza tossed her head to the side, letting out what sounded an awful lot like a moan of pain. She kept tossing and turning, clearly uncomfortable in her position.

She bit her lip, holding back a hiss of pain. She arched off of the bed, grabbing fistfuls of the thin sheets. Riza twisted them in her hands, nearly ripping them. Her mouth then opened in a silent scream, and her eyes opened, wide and unseeing.

Roy cursed.

Two nurses rushed in, checking the machines surrounding her. The erratic line on her heart monitor was speeding up, and two women checked her IV drip and her last dosage of painkillers.

"It's nothing physical," they reported back to the Colonel. "According to this, she should be fine. Morphine was given just a little while ago. If anything, I'd guess that her injuries and recent events have raised her stress levels a significant amount."

"I think she's having a nightmare."

* * *

_Darkness._

_Riza couldn't see a thing. Her eyelids were heavy, and she couldn't gather the strength to lift them. It was like floating, the sensation of just drifting into a void of nothingness._

_It was terrifying._

_She couldn't move; she was paralyzed, unable to even twitch a finger. She was frantically trying to move, to scream. But it was no use._

_But she could hear something in the distance. It was faint, and even her well-trained ears were straining to distinguish the sound._

_It was a voice. The words were muffled, as if she was trying to hear them through a wall _(If you've ever pressed your ear against a wall to try and eavesdrop on the people next door you know what I'm talking about.) _or she was hearing them from underwater. The voice was deep, and most definitely male. But underneath that, there was something else. Another noise, though Riza couldn't even begin to guess the cause of this one. _

_But now, she was drifting closer. The voice was growing clearer, and became louder. She felt herself relax slightly. She knew that sound even with her eyes closed._

_Ah. _

_It was Roy. He was was mumbling to her, soft words that soon became slightly easier to warmed her slightly_

_Her eyes opened. _

_As expected, the first thing she laid her eyes on was Roy's face. Eyes closed, his lips were moving, as he spoke softly. His head laid in her lap, hair disheveled. He was blurry, for what reason Riza had no clue. _

_The second his eyelids lifted, Riza knew something was very, very wrong. _

_His eyes showed turmoil. _

_No, they showed... pain._

_Roy was gazing up at her through half-lidded, betrayed eyes. He mouthed one word up to her, one that confused her for a good couple of seconds. _

_"Why?"_

_Riza could feel her eyebrows pulling together in confusion, though she had no control over her actions. It was like watching a movie through someone else's eyes. She was helpless, unable to control what this person was doing, and what they were saying. She blinked._

_Oh. so, those were tears. Riza could almost feel them, big heavy drops of water rolling down her cheeks. Almost. but everything was sort of numb. _

_But then her ears cleared and her vision sharpened, and Riza could move on her own again. She gasped, taking in large gulps of smoke. _

_Smoke?_

_Head whipping around back and forth, Riza sniffed, searching for the source. _

_That when she realized; the building was on fire. It was Roy's house, she deduced, as the whole world burned around them. The shape, the structure;, even the half-destroyed furniture; this was his living room. Flames licked at the walls, climbing higher and higher._

_Below her, Roy grunted in pain and she looked down at him again._

_No..._

_His entire neck was burnt. Red, angry burns snaked their way up his arm, and he hissed in discomfort._

_"How could you do this?" He asked, voice cracking. He paused to cough. "You said that you had control. You said that I-" He hacked, jerking as the cough racked his body. "-you said I could trust you."_

_Riza, eyes full of horror, looked up to witness the consequences of her crime. She'd done this. To him, Roy Mustang, the person whose safety was even more important than her own. She's lost control over the monster. _

_She reached out, trying to console him. She was trying to pull him up into a sitting position, one hand supporting But the second her fingers brushed against his chest, right over his heart... He also began to burn. _

_Riza screamed, her eyes becoming so wide that they'd fall of if she went any further. Her pupils shrank as she watched Roy Mustang burn up. She scooted away from him, as if removing herself from the situation would stop the damage. __As if that would be enough to bring the Colonel back. _

_"But I don't blame you," he said. "It's not your fault. It's mine."_

_It was similar to how Lust had died. Part of him were practically disintegrating. Except unlike Lust, he wasn't even beginning to recover and heal._

_It wouldn't have been so bad if Roy hadn't still been smiling at her. He was forgiving her, after she'd screwed up so bad. After she'd **murdered** him._

**_Murder._**

_He was still smiling softly at her, before his face was consumed in red and orange and turned to ash._

_"It was my fault for believing you."_

_And then Colonel Roy Mustang, soon to be Fuhrer died._

_And Riza began to shriek. All she could she, flashing through her vision repeatedly over and OVER again, was the sight of Roy Mustang smiling up at her._

_Usually heat didn't bother her. Her fire, or really ANY fire, couldn't even touch her. But this time, she could feel the temperature rising. She could just imagine the flames rising higher and higher, growing hotter and brighter than ever before. And when she shook the vision of Roy disappearing into nothing, she saw exactly what she expected. _

_But this time, the flames were not red._

_They were white and blue, a level of extreme heat she never could have imagined. The tears that dripped to the floor, sizzling and disappearing almost immediately._

_Riza sat on her knees in the middle of the burning house, her entire body crawling with this new fire. But she made no move to get out or evacuate. She just the the grief consume her, pulling her deeper and deeper into darkness. _

_She stared up at the roof that came crashing down to meet her, and before she was crushed by the massive amounts of wood and brick and cement, she got a glimpse of the sky._

_Stars. Lots and lots of twinkling diamonds against the dark blue background. Time slowed as she just closer her eyes and faced the stars. She wasn't going to even move as she was crushed. _

_Because she wasn't going to break yet another promise. _

_"I will follow you into hell if you ask me to."_

_Though he may have gone to heaven, and she was heading the opposite directing, there was no way she'd just remain on Earth, where Roy could never return to._

_She was __following to hell after his departure from the living, just like she'd always planned. _

_Goodbye._

_Then ceiling (quite literally) came rushing at her. _

_And everything went black._

* * *

**So... Terrible? Horrible? Decent? I'd love to hear what you all have to say in the reviews, and I hope to hear from all of you!**

**Also... my computer has just been fixed! YAY! So, now, though I still might not update very often, I'll try and pick up the pace just a little bit. **

**Thanks for everything! Especially sticking with me for all this time, even though my posting schedule is really awful.**

**Bye!**

**-Pyro**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**This chapter is dedicated to: debbie . tofu**

** Fizzy Bow (for reviewing TBOHB; sorry I forgot to give you a mention earlier.)**

**TsuYoFon**

**DarkWinxGirl**

**Hey guys! **

**I'm having a bit of a hard time thinking of new chapter ideas... I know the overall ****plot, and I don't really want to add fillers but... I feel like if I just jump in and start writing a) this story is gonna be WAY too short and b) I won't be happy with the final product when I've completed the story. **

**If anyone has any ideas/suggestions I'd be happy to hear them!**

**So... I've decided one of the side-main ships in this story is going to be... Al/Mei!**

**Note: at the end of the anime, Al is 17. Mei is supposed to be 14. In this story, even though it's been more than a year later, Al is gonna be be the same age and I'll pretend that Mei was just a late bloomer and was older than she looked. So Al: 17, Mei: 15.**

**(And yeah, I know it's supposedly spelled May, but it feels wrong so...)**

* * *

Riza was screaming. She was no longer mumbling and moaning as she tossed and turned. Now she was thrashing against Maes' firm grip on her wrists. Pinned down to the bed by his hands, she was using all of her strength to try and break free. Clearly, by the look of concentration on his face, Maes was using an immense amount of energy to hold her down.

Havoc had slipped in just barely a second before her episode had started, and was now holding Roy back from behind by his arms. Jean's eyes were enormous, as he watched in horror as the strongest woman he knew (okay, well maybe second to Olivier but still) fell to pieces in her unconscious state.

She threw her head back and let out another blood-curling scream. Her back arched completely off the thin mattress, and she'd completely shredded the threadbare cotton sheets with her fingernails. She'd raked her hand down several times, before Maes had jumped in and restrained her. It looked as if some wild animal had somehow barged in and clawed at her beddings.

Riza's eyes were clamped shut, as she shook her head back and forth.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Riza shrieked as her leg flew up, kneeing Maes in the side painfully. He grimaced, but held his ground.

Her eyes suddenly flew open. They were wide and unseeing, though horror and despair could clearly be seen in the amber orbs.

Maes looked utterly concerned, and confused, as he hadn't seen the two in at least a week.

Apparently, a lot could happen in seven days. The Elrics and the mechanic Ed had somehow managed to seduce a while back had come back into town. Then the two boys had gone and gotten themselves kidnapped in broad daylight. (Granted, it had been in an alley way but still, it had been midday in the busiest part of Central City!)

Riza had blown the whole secret thing, gotten herself shot, and was now having the equivalent of a mental breakdown in her sleep.

Wow.

_Someone has some explaining to do when all this is over..._

Regardless, he continued to stubbornly push her down. And gradually, inch by inch, she allowed herself to be lowered back into a normal sleeping position.

Roy was still fighting against Havoc like his life depended on it. Finally he broke free, and rushed to Riza.

Her eyes rolled back into her head as her heart rate slowed. Her breathing evened out, and her head lolled to one side. Eyes fluttering shut, she moaned in discomfort before finally falling back into what looked like a dreamless slumber.

But of course, being as perceptive as he was (plus the added bonus of having known her for quite a long time), Maes suspected otherwise.

Now, her nightmare was simply just contained in her mind. Or, perhaps she was paralyzed with fear.

For once in his life, he hoped that he was wrong.

Riza's hands were still at her sides, and for a moment, Maes looked at her lying in the plain white cot. With Roy moving her hands so they were folded over her stomach, he could almost imagine it.

Pale skin with limp hair, her unnatural silence, the lack of movement. Even her breathing was barely distinguishable to the human eye.

If he didn't know any better; if he had't witnessed her screaming and thrashing like her life was on the line (or rather, _Roy's_ life) was on the line, he would have thought she was dead.

She looked so impossibly small in the tiny bed, and the too-large hospital gown. The machines keeping her physical pain at bay that were hooked up to her arms only added to the effect.

She looked like a completely different person. But... not in a good way.

Gone was the healthy glow that practically radiated from her being on most days. The golden shine to her hair was no more; and replaced by the less-than-ideal glare of the fluorescent lights overhead.

It was kind of... ironic really. (Though, Maes couldn't find any humor in it, considering the severity of the situation. Just irony.)

Riza's heart had been going a million miles an hour, as shown by her heart monitor, and she'd was _still_ recovering from surgery. She could legitimately pass as a _corpse_.

And yet, Roy still managed to look in worse shape than she was.

Much, much worse.

In skin tone, they looked about the same; the lack of color more than noticeable. They both wore the same dark circles under their eyes. Her facial expression had shown she'd been terrified.

But Roy still trumped her.

He was watching her, with heavy, labored breaths. He looked more than terrified; as if he was experiencing fear on a whole other level then her.

Even that wasn't the worst part.

His eyes.

The eyes of Roy Mustang, once unseeing for a brief amount of time, were filled with agony. He was burning in hell, and could only sit and watch her suffering.

All he could hear was her screams in his mind, as she thrashed and twisted and fought against her friend.

Against him.

While he knew it was nothing personal; Riza would've struggled against _anyone_ who had tried to hold her down, he felt sort of... hollow.

Riza was always consistent. Riza was his rock, the one person he could depend on. Riza was always there, always looking after him. Now, when it was finally his turn to step up to the challenge, she was screaming in her sleep with a bullet recently removed from her leg.

Some boyfriend he was.

Roy's everything (Riza really) was crumbling to pieces, and his entire world was numbing.

And then, within the four walls of the hospital room, it began to rain.

* * *

If anyone had asked him, Maes Hughes would have sworn he thought he'd been doing the right thing when he ordered the nurses to sedate the unsuspecting Colonel.

With of course, someone now was, so he scrambled for an answer.

Ed looked at him expectantly.

"So you were saying...?"

"See, Riza was, well she was..." He leaned in a bit closer so it was less likely for someone to overhear their conversation. With one more cautionary glance around them, he continued in a hushed tone.

"Riza had a nightmare. Roy wasn't exactly handling it well." Maes explained, pushing his glasses a little farther up his nose. If word got out that the woman with nerves of steel had suffered from a nightmare, he'd be in real trouble.

Not from any of the people offering their sympathy, or the people shocked by this development of course. However, _Riza_ would be something any sane person would be afraid of if said person had spread rumors (whether true of false was a whole other story) about her.

Ed nodded in agreement; it was easy to imagine that Roy wouldn't react well to Riza's emotional trauma. But _the_ Riza Hawkeye having a bad dream, and reacting on such a level that it had required restraint? That was one of the most unlikely things he'd ever heard of happening.

Not impossible. Though very, very unlikely.

Al's brows furrowed.

"So, where is the Colonel now? Brother, I think we should probably check up on him."

Maes simply laughed.

"He's in the room down the hallway to the left. You can't miss it."

As they walked towards the room, Edward couldn't help but notice the slightly suspicious look on Maes' face.

* * *

"Wow... This is... unexpected..." Al trailed off, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, unsure of what to say in response to the sight in front of him.

Ed, however, knew _exactly_ what to do.

He bent over, laughing, slapping his knee as he struggled to breathe.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Ed howled, unable to contain himself. A scandalized nurse passing by stuck her head in quickly.

"Mr. Alphonse! Would you please try to keep your brother from disturbing other patients?" The nurse asked timidly (seeing as she was speaking with a certified State Alchemist.)

Alphonse hurriedly agreed, shutting the door after she'd left.

"Brother!" Alphonse hissed in a way that mimicked the scandalized woman. "Please! Get yourself together!" He continued in a very unlike-Alphonse manner.

Ed chortled, still amused.

"Why should I?"

"Why?! What do you mean? This is most definitely not funny! Now please, get ahold of yourself!"

In all honesty, if the situation had been different, Al might have been chuckling along wit his brother. (Obviously to a lesser extent. Al was a natural gentleman, unlike his brother.)

Ed faced his brother.

"Really? Look me straight in the face, and tell me that isn't positively _hilarious_."

Both brothers looked back over to the left.

The sight of Roy clad in a rumpled military uniform, scrunched in a tight little ball as he sucked his thumb sent Ed right back into another fit of giggles.

Yes, giggles.

Al sighed.

_Brother is so immature sometimes._

Nevertheless, he cracked a smile as well.

And so the two teens stood, watching in amusement as Roy murmured unintelligibly in his sleep. (There were no sounds of distress of course; the boys wouldn't have just stood by as Roy suffered from a sleep terror. They weren't cruel for god's sake.)

Needless to say, when Roy finally awoke with a sore back and his hair sticking up in funny angles, which brought on a new round of laughing from Ed, he was _not_ a very happy Colonel.

* * *

Pain.

Riza was practically swimming in lakes of the stuff, as she sat up in bed. A nurse helped her sit up, pouring cool water down her sore throat. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke to thank the kind woman.

Riza closed her eyes, deep in thought.

_What was that... horrible dream?_

All she had were quick flashes of images, and intelligible sounds with voices she couldn't quite place. It was all a big blur, but she could tell by her sore throat that her screaming had definitely _not_ been her imagination.

She sat up, and heard a relieved nurse greet her and help her sit up. Cool water was helped to her mouth, and she swallowed in small gulps.

The longer she sat, as the kind lady checked her vitals, the more impatient she got.

_Dammit, I am not going to sit here like a baby and just wait for myself to get better!_ She silently fumed, only slightly delusional.

Swinging her legs over the bed the moment the nurse stepped out, Riza began to lower herself to the ground. the moment the feet touched the floor, an unbearable sensation shot up her leg and she was once again submerged in pain.

* * *

"Ugh." Havoc groaned.

"Dammit, this is such a pain in the ass," Havoc groaned. His little incident with the whole 'getting clubbed in the head with a gun thing' had landed him with a head injury.

Still, at maybe 7 in the afternoon, the entire team was still in the hospital. Nearly half an hour ago, Roy had awoke, bringing some..._ amusing_ events.

And around that time, Havoc had collapsed, and had been diagnosed with a minor concussion. And under doctor's orders; he was to rest and be released no sooner than tomorrow morning.

Ditto with Riza.

And now, all there was to so was wait.

Not for Riza and Havoc to recover; there were no plans to stay overnight. There were arrangements that had to be made in time for Roy's promotion in a few weeks. No, they were waiting for something else.

For Roy and Ed to calm down enough for them to be taken home.

"Now my head hurts all the time and I can't even think straight," he moaned pitifully.

Maes sighed. At this point, at least half the team was all drugged up on pain meds.

...Which meant that there was yet _another_ delay in his matchmaking plans.

"Umm, is Hughes alright over there?" He asked Rebecca, who he'd been conversing with just a moment ago. Rebecca turned to see Maes grumbling to himself as he paced in a corner. He looked severely disgruntled, as he chewed his lip.

"Uh, Hughes?" Maria called over the room. "You alright over there?"

He just continued to curse under his breath.

"Maes?"

"Dammit!" He swore. "After all these years and I'm forced to wait _again?!"_

Blink.

Wait what?

"What does this push the wedding back to? May? June? Even July? Eww, not July, then I'd have to reschedule setting up Havoc and Rebecca! Or was that supposed to be for June? Wait," he began counting off his fingers, ignoring the looks on Rebecca and Havoc's faces.

And the amused one plastered all over Maria's face; but that was beside the point.

"No! July was for that Elric kid and the girl with the cat! So if I could still make that work, because he's nowhere near as hard-headed as his older brother. So if I just work a little harder on that-"

"Umm Miss Ross? Am I interrupting something?" A meek voice asked from the doorway.

Maria looked over Maes' shoulder.

"Nah, come on in Mei. And ignore the rambling idiot on your way in."

* * *

She looked... different.

Mei's height had skyrocketed since Father's defeat.

She had curves in place that no one had ever expected; aka now she had hips. And... boobs. And hips.

And was less 'little-girl-cute' and more along the lines of gorgeous. Her hair wasn't in her typical style; the two buns with tiny braids. As of the moment, her long hair was pulled back in a single bun, strands framing her face.

Maes cocked his head to one side.

_She looks __familiar..._

It was only when the telltale grin flashed before him did he realize who exactly he was looking at.

"Mei! Oh, and Xiao-Mei! It's been so long!"

And that it had been. Ling and Mei had been so busy working with the lower clans in Xing, they'd only been writing letters for the past year. Most of her letters had been for Winry of course, but she always remembered to greet all the friends she missed every so often. (She barely wrote to Al anymore, as she was too embarrassed to even approach him.)

He pulled her in for a hug, laughing at he squeal of surprise.

Xiao-Mei climbed from her companion's shoulder to affectionately nuzzle against Maes' neck.

"Aww... missed you too!"

He pulled back, holding Mei by her shoulders. He looked her over once (not in a creepy way, remember this is _Maes_ we're talking about), and grinned.

"Well you sure have grown! Last time I saw you , you barely came up to my waist!"

He pumped his fist in the air.

"Yes! Now getting you to hook up with Alphonse will be even easier!"

Mei flushed about ten shades of red, shaking her hands wildly.

He blatantly ignored her protesting.

"Oh no, I'm not like that anymore!" She insisted, referring to how she'd fawned (more at the idea of him but still) over the young alchemist.

Her face told otherwise but before Maes could even open his mouth, Maria interrupted.

"Maes, stop scaring her. You're freaking her out," she chastised. Maes sighed.

"Fine, fine," he said reluctantly. He ruffled her hair for good measure.

"It's good to see you. Seriously."

She smiled nervously in response, brushing a strand back behind her ear.

"It's good to be back."

She began leaning to one side, peering behind Maes.

"Why is Miss Rebecca's face so red?"

* * *

In retrospect, Winry should have expected it.

It was bound to happen sometime, knowing the two men -more like _boys _really- and their typical dispositions.

Otherwise known as their tendency to start petty fights.

Winry sighed miserably, wringing her hands.

_Looks like they've thrown the entire east wing of the hospital into chaos_, Winry mentally grumbled to herself. Suddenly, two slim, strong arms snaked around her from behind. She was squeezed as she flailed her arms on both directions.

"Winry! Hi!" An enthusiastic voice drifted from behind.

Winry turned.

Holding her from behind in an iron grip was Mei Chang. And just like with Maes, it was only when her signature smile, the very same one that was most likely the only part that had not changed at all, did her eyes light up in recognition.

She squealed, throwing her arms around the dark-haired girl's neck.

"Mei! Ohmygod, it's been forever! Holy shit, you grew! And you got _gorgeous!"_ Winry said with another squeal of excitement.

Mei flushed again for what had to be the tenth time since she'd arrived at the hospital.

"I mean, not to say you weren't pretty last time a saw you, but now instead of cute you're more like stunning," Winry quickly rambled, seeing the strange look crossing Mei's face.

_Please don't let me have __offended her!_ Winry silently pleaded.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I can't have possibly changed that much, can I? Mr. Hughes said the same thing just a moment ago," Mei said, stepping back, allowing Winry to look her over again, hoping her opinion on the matter would change.

_There is **no way** that I've changed that much in the past year,_ Mei confidently thought to herself. _Mr. Hughes was just being dramatic again. As __usual._

However, as Winry circled her, observing little detail that she hadn't noticed before, she simply nodded.

"No, you've changed. I hardly recognized you with a figure like that. You really had no idea?" Mei shook her head. "

So," Winry said, her voice turning sly as she raised an eyebrow. "You come all the way from Xing looking like that for someone _special?_" Her voice suggesting that she knew more than she was letting on.

"WHAT?! NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Mei cried, horrified. "I- I'd never, I mean-" Winry threw her head back and laughed, momentarily forgetting the current situation, with Roy and Ed bickering like children.

And the busted wall.

And the unhinged door.

And the singed coat Ed was currently wearing as he ran through the halls.

Winry smiled, letting herself fall back into the comfortable conversation that she'd missed so much.

"So, how long are you staying for?"

"Well..."

"Well what? Don't tell me you're only here for a little while!" Winry began to whine. Mei shook her head.

"No, it's nothing like that. Actually... I'll be living in Amestris for the time being!" Winry's eyes grew in size, a brilliant white smile blooming.

"I'll be able to see you everyday now! Most of the political aspects and arguments between clans are settling down. Ling's got things under control with Lan Fan, and it's calmed down enough for me to take leave. Now, all I need to do is find a hotel to stay in for a little while."

"What? Are you crazy? Mei, come live with us!"

Mei blinked, it was too good to be true.

"Oh, I couldn't impose! There's no need I-"

"Don't be ridiculous! It'll be no trouble at all! What kind of friends would we be if we let you stay in a ridiculously expensive hotel? Besides, the hotel in central are pretty crappy; they just have high rates because there aren't any other places around for miles."

"Money's not an issue, I'm technically considered a diplomat so-"

"No objections. You are staying with us. Got it?" Winry said, taking her hand as she carefully enunciated each word. Mei nodded. Satisfied, Winry smiled and began walking down the hall as she followed the scorch marks with Mei in tow.

"Now, come with me. Let's go find those idiots."

* * *

Roy growled.

"Damn shorty, get the fuck back here with those," he said, hurling another ball of fire at the photos Ed held in one hand. Ed stepped gracefully to one side, easily evading the blow from the Colonel who was still slightly shaky on his feet. He waved them tauntingly from across the room.

Before the 'short' comment fully registered.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A SHORTY WHEN YOU'RE JUST A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK WHO CAN'T EVEN SEE OVER THE COUNTER WHEN YOU GO TO THE SUPERMARKET TO BUY MILK EVEN THOUGH MILK IS TOTALLY GROSS AND DISGUSTING DRINKING THE STUPID STUFF IS TOTALLY IDIOTIC YOU MICROSCOPIC LITTLE BABY MINI BEANSPROUT-"

A shiny object was flung into the air, spinning in an enchanting spiral before nailing Edward Elric right in the side of the head.

He let out something that highly resembled a scream of pain and surprise, before glaring at the person who had flung said shiny object.

Hint: the shiny object just so happens to be a wrench...

Ed sent a withering look her way, which she countered by holding up another heavy metal tool threateningly. He gulped, and immediately retreated, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I submit. Just don't go chucking another death-stick at my head."

"Brother!" Alphonse, who had been running through the halls, skidded to a stop when he passed the corridor. He'd been searching he halls for what felt like forever, and now they had Ed and Roy trapped. (So, they're in the hallway and Roy and Ed are stuck between Winry and Al. Just clarifying.)

"Brother that isn't funny! You two have nearly destroyed the entire wing exclusive to members of the military!" Al exclaimed, gesturing to the wreckage around them. "This was a perfectly nice building before you two went and wrecked it by blowing it to bits!"

Roy lunged for Ed in his moment of weakness; as Al stared him down for being so reckless.

Snatching the photos out of Ed's once-metal limb, he quickly found himself on the ground. His momentum had thrown him too far forward, and he ended up crashing down on his butt.

He whooped in victory.

Ed responded by growling and running to tackle him.

"You're not helping!" Al said with mild irritation coloring his voice. He rubbed at his tired eyes. He had, after all, been rescued from his kidnapper just earlier that day. "Can someone _please_ just get them under control for a second?"

His request had been aimed at Winry, but she wasn't the one to jump into action.

A quick flash of red and black flew over (yes, _over. _It's a narrow hallway) Winry and gracefully pinning Ed to the floor with her feet on his back. She used her foot, still planted on his back, to press down on a specific spot on his back. He relaxed immediately, almost easing into the floor.

"Sort of like pressure points," the girl said with and apologetic and almost embarrassed smile. "It's a basic technique that's a huge principle applied to alkahestry. Once you learn it on human body, it's much easier to apply that knowledge reading the Dragon's Pulse." She explained to Winry, who was listening with rapt attention.

Turning to Roy, she proceeded to perform a similar process,; this time on his neck.

She turned to Alphonse, who was dumbly staring at her.

Winry rolled her eyes.

Al had been talking about this girl _forever_ and now when given the chance to greet her, all he could do was blink. She scowled.

"Al! Don't be rude and say hello!"

He shook his head, feeling rather... foolish?

"That move you just pulled back there, with the pressure points was amazing! And the fact that you still managed to manipulate such a precise spot while leaping on him was awesome!" Al said enthusiastically.

Winry frowned.

_Why hasn't he started blushing like an idiot yet? Usually if her name is even mentioned he turns into a human tomato and leaves the room before someone starts teasing him too bad._

He stuck out his hand as a friendly gesture.

_Tell me he didn't..._

"Hi, My name is Alphonse Elric! It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said, slightly embarrassed that he'd forgotten to properly introduce himself before starting his rant of adoration.

_That stupid moronic idiot. Why I oughta..._

Mei stared at his outreached hand for a moment, letting disappointment wash over her in waves. However, her dismayed feeling was gone from her eyes when she looked up to see his face. She took his hand in both of her and shook it up and down.

She stepped back, holding her hand to her chest as soon as the brief contact was over.

Winry's eyes narrowed. Her friend was hiding behind a frankly unconvincing mask of happiness complete with a fake smile. And she was NOT going to stand for it.

_Al wouldn't dare hit on this girl, regardless of how pretty she is. He only has feelings for Mei, who is still in Xing as far as he knows. If I don't act now, and he doesn't realize..._

"Al, you idiot it's-"

"It was nice to meet you," Mei cut in, casting a place over her shoulder to Winry that clearly read _please just leave it alone.'_

"But I really should be going now." She said, her voice stiff.

And with that, she bid him a soft, half-hearted goodbye, walking away with her feet dragging in the linoleum floor.

Al simply blinked as Winry gave him a scowl that was usually reserved for Ed when he'd done something incredibly stupid.

Needless to say, it was not something he was usually on the receiving end of.

He didn't like it.

He _really_ didn't like it.

Almost as much as he didn't like the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when he looked over that the retreating figure of the girl who Winry hurried to catch up with.

He was wracking his brain, trying to recall what was so off about the pretty girl with the long legs and shiny hair and-

_Woah..._ Al reeled back, nearly smacking his head on a dangerously low light that was hanging from its wires after being pulled from the ceiling in the midst of Roy and Ed's fight.

_Where the hell did that come from?_

Almost immediately, he felt a rush of emotions flood his head. Confusion, guilt, mostly embarrassment for having clearly disappointed the girl who was morosely retreating.

_Pretty? No I meant... um, impressive? Yeah, her skills! Her skills were impressive! That's what I meant! _Al was (unsuccessfully) trying to convince himself that he hadn't meant what he'd slipped up and thought on instinct.

_But... I don't- I mean I would never think about any girl like that, I mean that's just wrong because I already like Mei-_

Al reeled his head back, this time actually banging his head into the light accidentally.

He winced, rubbing the lump already forming on his head.

Ed stirred at the sound, and a low moan came from Roy, who was laying in a heap next to him.

_What the heck just happened here?_

* * *

Maes groaned. Her really, _really_ did not have the energy to deal with this right now.

Havoc had just been cleared, with a bottle of painkillers and strict instructions to take it easy for a while.

And finally when the team had been geared up and ready to finally _get the hell out of the __godforsaken hospital_, Maes had gone to wake up Roy from his drug-induced slumber.

Only to find the bed completely empty, the thin blanket cast aside.

It was at that moment, Al happened to wander into the room, calling Maes to come look at something for a second.

And now, here they were, looking at the pair of for-the-most-part unconscious idiots, in the middle of what looked like a blast zone.

Walls that had evidently had fists smashed into them spoke enough about the nature of their fight, though Maes noted that while Roy had them on; he hadn't actually used his signature weapons.

_Thank god._

He blinked twice, hoping that the whole scene was just a figment of his imagination, or a side effect of exhaustion.

But sadly, the image remained when he opened his eyes again.

_Man, this whole entire day is screwed up. _

There was something wrong with Al too, now that he thought about it.

He had this baffled look on his face, and his eyes kept flitting about, as if he was having a hard time focusing.

"Hey Al, " he said, bumping him gently with his elbow. "You alright?"

Unusually unresponsive, Alphonse didn't even register the fact that Maes had spoken. For a few moments, he simply kept his jaw propped up on his fist, lost in thought.

"Hey Alphonse," he repeated, this time grabbing ahold of the younger boy's elbow and giving it a shake. "What's up with you today? I mean, unlike your brother, you usually don't get all moody and-" Maes turned up his nose in disgust at the very thought of it.

"-prepubescent or something. Really, what's wrong with you?"

Al waved off Maes' thinly veiled concern.

"Nah, I'm fine and- Hey, prepubescent? I have _totally_ overcome puberty at this point!" He cried indignantly. Maes rolled his eyes, but let him continue.

"Anyway, It's just... I saw something pretty incredible earlier, and I'm still not quite sure how they did it," Al said, only half-lying. After that performance of manipulating the human body and its weak points, he was still trying to figure out how she'd done it all so quickly.

She's used about as much effort as a typical human needed to open a door to take both Roy and his older brother down; or at least, that's how she'd played it afterwards. She seemed to have no problem gracefully leaping over Winry and then Ed, who as much as everyone (especially Roy) hated to admit, wasn't a shorty anymore. In fact, he was above average at this point. (Though, they still teased him mercilessly, and never let him forget him midget days. And he was obviously still very sensitive about the whole thing; judging by how defensive he always got.)

He looked back on the brief, almost non-existent glimpse he'd barely caught of her before she'd leapt over Winry like an acrobat. She had used winry's shoulders briefly as a surface to vault herself over. But she obviously didn't weigh very much (or at least, she knew how to throw her weight around), seeing as Winry hadn't even buckled in the slightest under her entire body being balanced on her shoulder for a nanosecond. Hadn't even disturbed a singled hair on her head.

Seriously, what?

Al could barely close a paper cut when he summoned all of the energy (both his and that of the Earth) he could muster. The main principle in itself was hard enough as it was to get his head around, but he just wasn't...

Directing his energy the right way? Manipulating the flow?

He just didn't _feel it._

_It doesn't feel right when I do it._

And that frustrated him to no end, that he could never do anything more than study and read about it. But reading isn't the same thing as doing, something that Alphonse knew all to well. (Sound like a Colonel we know, huh..?)

It didn't matter how many times he re-read the texts, or memorized the techniques; if he couldn't apply it to actually performing the freaking process an actually do something it was meaningless.

And what made him even more frustrated was when he saw someone who could do it like it was as natural as breathing; like a fish to water. There weren't many opportunities for that to happen, seeing as Alkahestry wasn't a common (if not completely unheard of) practice.

But that girl... For her it was even _more_ than breathing. It was a web she was entangled in, one that she could move and twist and bend easily better than a fish could swim.

It was like she was...living.

Well, more _alive_ that is.

She hadn't even given Roy a second place after looking at him over Winry's shoulder. She knew on instinct what to do and how to do it.

Her limbs propelled her high into the air, then she curved in midair, and gently landed her on the floor. She embodied grace and coordination, and her movements were confident and swift, unlike his choppy awkward impersonations.

And almost as much as he was concerned, and almost as much as he was intrigued, he was envious.

Which was most peculiar feeling.

One certainly did not enjoy.

* * *

When it all settled down (aka when Roy and Ed were safely in different rooms, in opposite wings of the hospital, each issued their own hospital beds- complete with restraints and locked doors and everything) Maes was ready to just sleep on the floor beside Riza's bed.

There was no way he was leaving Roy alone after all of that, and besides, his wife and daughter weren't even home.

He really saw no point in going anywhere tonight. It was late, he didn't have the energy to drive, or find his keys and walk up the stairs to his front door. Without his family waiting for him back home, he had absolutely no incentive to get up and leave the hospital.

For the love of god, Maes just wanted to _sleep._

Between the successful rescue mission, dealing with the captured men (and their cohorts), seeing Riza through her surgery and her traumatizing nightmare, and then sedating Roy, which led to his fight with the eldest Elric, he had: Absolutely. No. Fucks. Left. To. Give.

He didn't care that he would be wearing his uniform again tomorrow morning, or that he hadn't eaten anything.

The others, however, had obligations to fulfill.

Maria was just about ready to go home, but she was currently staying with Rebecca because her apartment was being remodeled, and Rebecca had lost her keys in the commotion. Now, they were scouring Havoc's room, hoping they'd find them.

Havoc, Breda and Fuery were finally heading home, due to the fact that Havoc really shouldn't be straining himself. (Hell, he wasn't even supposed to be walking on his own, or even out of his hospital bed. But he had insisted that he would be much more comfortable in his own bed.)

Now, with the entire hospital staff sympathetic towards the stressed male, Maes had gotten ahold of a spare blanket and a pillow.

He'd been offered a bed, but being in a hospital bed remind him of all the times he'd needed to for serious reasons, and he'd rather not relive that at this specific moment.

True to his (or like, my) word, Maes was asleep on the floor between Riza's bed and the wall. He was farthest from the door, something he was grateful for. Not, a nurse probably wouldn't accidentally step on him at the crack of dawn.

The lights were finally off, and Maes welcomed the peace and quiet.

Silence.

Perfect

_Shit._

He sat up, hair in disarray.

His had shot up to feel his surroundings, searching.

_Dammit, where are my glasses?_

He paused, once again listening to the silence that seemed to fill the room, despite the fact that it was the very absence of sound.

_And where the hell is Riza?_

* * *

Riza limped forwards, dragging her leg behind her. She had a crutch, and was all doped up on pain meds, which was probably the reason for her sudden desire.

_Roy? Where is he?_

Riza was calling out for him in her mind, not sure if the words were actually following her orders to come out of her lips. Her vision was hazy at best, and for some reason, the ground felt as if it was moving beneath her.

The hallways were lit, though that didn't matter to Riza. She had one hand supporting her against the wall, and followed that.

_Dammit Roy I can't protect you from a whole different room. What the hell?_

While she might not have been in her right mind, at least she had her usual priorities straight.

_He's in line to be Fuhrer, what the hell does he think he's doing, staying unprotected?_

She lost her footing, and grimaced, when she hit the floor.

_Fan-freaking-tastic._

Leaning up against the wall, she found herself unable to pull herself up.

_Great._

Looks like she was stuck for while.

Or not.

Because one thing about Riza Hawkeye, in her right mind or not, when determined, was truly a force to be reckoned with. She had one hell of a fighting spirit, and she was not going to be stopped because a stupid piece of metal smaller that her thumb.

And so, with her head held high and her dignity still intact, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye began to hoist herself up using her fallen crutch, and began limping about the hospital, calling for Roy Mustang.

Luckily for her, a nurse found her wandering aimlessly, and rushed to find a wheel chair and put her in it because _for fucks sake they were NOT going to let another military officer injure needlessly themselves just because they were stubborn beyond belief. _

And so, Riza was allowed to stay in the bed next to Roy's for the time being.

* * *

Winry sat next to Ed's bed, looking at the dumbass currently tethered to it.

_Idiot._

Still, she delicately brushed a few stray strands of hair out of his face. She smiled down at him, her eyes flicking upwards to make sure his restraints were secure, then down at his face once again.

_He's kinda cute when she sleeping,_ she thought to herself.

_Maybe falling in love with him wasn't such a bad thing after all._

She twirled a piece of his hair around her finger, only to be struck with a horrible realization.

_Oh...My...God..._

Her eyes grew wide with horror.

_No way..._

Ed stirred, as if sensing her distress.

_ED HAS BETTER HAIR THAN ME_

Oh, so that's what it was.

Even in his sleep, Ed could sense the perfect time to laugh at her.

He was chuckling. In his sleep.

* * *

Mei sat on a bench outside of the hospital, looking up at the sky.

It was past late afternoon by now; the sun had already set, bringing shades of dark blue and indigo overhead. She sighed, letting her hands run through her hair. She'd let it down since she'd left, and had somehow managed to slip away from Winry, who had been repeatedly apologizing for her friend's behavior.

Mei had shrugged it off, saying that it hadn't been her fault, and she was fine.

But even Winry could tell she was lying through her teeth.

Mei slumped down further on the cold metal structure, sadly gazing at the twinkling lights above her.

_It's like the universe itself is mocking me,_ she thought glumly. _I bet he doesn't even remember me._

She looked off into the distance (aka at the people across the empty street), wondering if it had all been a silly notion to come back to Central after all.

More than that, she wondered if her unrequited feelings would ever go away and let her live her life in peace.

Probably not.

She tickled Xiao-Mei's nose with her finger absentmindedly.

_Maybe coming back was a mistake._

* * *

**Hey guys! I know, I know, it's been FOREVER. I'm sorry, but I have regents (pretty much standardized high school finals) coming up and I can't afford to do poorly on them. But I seriously mean it when I say this: as soon as summer starts, I will most DEFINITELY be writing and updating more often.**

**-Pyro**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.**

**Hey guys! I know, It's been like, forever!**

**Anyway, I have news. So... I've been thinking of staring a new fic for Fairy Tail. I won't stop posting new chapters here, I promise, but I might not be updating as much...**

**That is, until summer finally comes... I mean, can you believe it? I'm going to be going into _high school_. As in the place where all the kids are like mountains (mainly because I'm ridiculously short but that's besides the point).**

***Clears throat***

**So without much further ado, here are the people who really gave me the incentive to finally finish this stupid chapter:**

**DarkWinxGirl**

**flying mint kitty 77**

**SpartanN93**

* * *

Winry woke up to someone stroking her hair. She blearily lifted her head, eyes still clouded with sleep. It was Ed.

He was still sleeping, at least that's what she assumed; his eyes were closed peacefully and he didn't look totally enraged that one of his wrists was strapped down. (She'd decided to give him a little freedom. Besides, he couldn't go anywhere anyway without her knowing. All she needed was for him to be unable to move for a few moments; long enough for her to pull out a wrench.)

It look a few moments for this information to properly register this information.

Winry froze.

_Am I dreaming?_

Her face flushed red, as she attempted to keep her heart rate under 100.

_Breathe. Breathe.__ Okay, calm down._

Winry nearly squealed when his hand moved down to rest against her neck. As in, his hand was touching her neck.

AS IN MAYBE HE COULD FEEL HER FRANTIC HEARTBEAT AS SHE CONTINUED TO FREAK AND OH GODS WHAT IF HER CRAZY HEART RATE WOKE HIM UP OR SOMETHING WHILE HER HEAD WAS STILL LYING IN HER LAP-

"Mhm," Ed stirred.

Winry's internal meltdown was put on hold for a moment. Her hand reached up quickly, in case she needed to pry her neck from his gentle but firm grasp.

However, as her hand hovered by his; his mutterings trailed off and his head lolled to one side.

She gave sigh of relief.

That is, until his hand shot up to grab her in his.

Now Winry's (recently freed) head went upright, as she stared at their joined hands. She wriggled her hand, trying to escape. Ed's hand continued to envelop hers, though, as she tried to _get him off of her goddamit._

_What am I supposed to do he could wake up any second and-_

Al's head popped in through the door. His hair was all messed up and his shirt was rumpled.

Winry raised an eyebrow at his unusually... untidy appearance. He raised an eyebrow in return, his gaze flicking down to their joined hands.

Winry sighed, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Wow. Not even worth a 'good morning.' Thanks, love you too," Winry said, her first words of the morning slightly scratchy. "Now, help me pry your brother's hand off of mine."

Her head jerked to indicate what she was referring to, though she knew he was already aware of her... 'predicament.' (Eww. It sound kinda dirty when I phrased it like that. Well, whatever. Just ignore it.)

Al laughed off her dirty look, sauntering unconcernedly over to her.

He grabbed their joined hands, trying to pull off Ed's fingers one by one.

Ed's head tossed to one side. Al rolled his eyes. (Warning: there might be a lot of eye-rolling in this chapter.)

"Brother," he called, poking his wrist. "Let go. You're hurting Winry."

"Oh no," Winry assured Al, who was visibly getting worked up at the idea of anyone getting the slightest bit injured. (Especially after yesterday's escapade.) "He's just fine. It's just... I can't really go anywhere..."

Winry trailed off, suddenly growing redder yet.

"Winry? Is something wrong?" Al asked, wondering why his childhood friend was starting to look like a fire hydrant. (Which were scattered all over the city. Cautionary tales about Roy spread _fast._)

"N-nothing, Al."

Al quirked an eyebrow but didn't ask.

"Ed. Please, just let go."

Al tugged on Ed's hand, which still held onto the poor mechanic's hand like his life depended on it.

"Mhm..."

Ed stirred again. Al simply groaned at the stubbornness of his idiot brother, and flicked him in the head.

"-inry. Don't go..." Ed moaned.

Both conscious blonde teens' eyes bugged.

Winry uncomfortable laughed.

"Heh. Ed... you can seriously let go now..." Winry laughed nervously, her leg shaking.

"I can't just hit him. He's only sleeping..." Winry hissed in a whisper over the older Elric's body, cautious not to wake him. "Besides. I can't wake him up. Not after what you guys did for me yesterday."

Al softened at that.

"It was nothing. Besides, we're not the ones who brought a grown man to his knees with a wrench."

"Are you kidding me? If there's anyone we need to thank, it's the Lieu- I mean, Miss Riza. She was... wow."

They thought for a moment before realizing.

"Do you think we're ever going to get an explanation for that?"

Winry smiled.

"Yeah, I think so. She obviously doesn't owe us anything. But, she's always so kind, and I don't think she'll keep us in the dark about something so big."

"Was that Roy's alchemy she used back there?" Winry asked after a beat of silence. "It just seemed... different. I've never seen so much power and energy pour our of someone like that before."

Al contemplated the notion.

"I honestly don't think so. Maybe it's an evolved version of what he does. The two methods seem very similar, once you overlook the raw power difference."

"I know. Honestly, I thought it was Roy who had saved us until the flames cleared."

Al nodded.

"Me too! When I saw Miss Hawkeye standing there, I was really surprised. I mean- What are you doing?"

Winry was fidgeting in her seat.

"Uhh, Al...?" Winry's voice rose an octave. "As much as I hate to ruin the moment, I really need to get out of here. Like, _now." _The tone of panic and discomfort in her voice alarmed him.

"Winry?"

She hung her head, hysteria making her the pitch of her voice jump again.

"I... I umm..." The words that come out next were stung together and came out in a rush he didn't have enough time to catch.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"..."

"I really have to go to the bathroom."

* * *

Roy woke up with a serious urge to stick someone six feet under. Really, he was dying to clobber whoever had proposed the idea of restraining him.

The person who had been in charge of taking care of Roy last night had not nearly been as sympathetic as Winry had been with Ed. (So, Maes.)

Unlike Ed, Roy had gotten a handcuff on _each wrist_, and on _each ankle._

_ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? _Even Roy's inner voice was a mixture of enraged and pouty.

Roy tugged on his wrists again, a painful jolt reminding him that while he was in great, if not amazing, physical condition; he was not, in fact, superhuman like either of the Armstrong siblings.

In simpler terms, there was no way he was escaping four military-approved sets of handcuffs right after waking up, and after not eating for several hours.

"UGH." Roy groaned, throwing his head to the side in annoyance.

"Roy? Are you awake?"

Roy's almost gave himself whiplash as his head snapped to meet Riza's soft smile and happy eyes.

"Riza!"

"Roy!" She happily called back in response, rushing over to greet him. Well, as fast as you could go in a wheelchair. She rolled over, carefully catching herself before bumping into his bed. She pushed aside a stray lock of raven-colored hair and smiled down at him.

"Hi," she said softly. "Good morning. How are you? You gave me quite a scare the other day. Who knew it was possible to almost drown standing up?" Her smile faded as the look in Roy's eyes darkened.

"Me? Riza, what about you? You scared _me_ to death with your nightmare episode."

Riza's expression slipped for a moment; just on enough for Roy to see past the fake optimism. He raised and eyebrow.

"Riza," he prodded. "You can tell me. What was that?"

Riza's plastered-on smile faltered.

"It was nothing, Roy. It's just a bad dream. Must have been the stress getting to me."

"I don't believe that bullshit for one second. And I'm almost insulted that you think I'd be fooled by that sad excuse of an explanation." Riza sighed.

"Of course not."

She brought a hand to his forehead first, before kissing his cheek.

"I should have known."

"Yes, you really should have."

"I dreamt..." Riza started, "I dreamt that we were in this room."

"It was your house."

"And we were on fire."

"And then we died. The end."

Roy sighed.

_Well, I guess it's better than nothing._

Riza gave him a real, genuine grin this time.

"But it's over now. I think... I really think I'm okay now. Promise."

She gave him a firm, reassuring look that left no room for argument.

"Promise."

"I'm trusting you," Roy said, suspicion fleeing from his outward appearance. "But I'm here, if you need me."

Riza nodded.

"I know."

* * *

When Winry finally returned from the bathroom, and Ed was finally awake enough to be mortified; it was nearly lunchtime.

So when she returned to the room holding a tray, it was understandable that Al and Ed were amazingly, expectably hungry.

Al snatched an apple off the tray she offered.

Ed, using the hand that wasn't strapped down, took the half sandwich she held out to him. Taking a bite, he moaned in contentment.

"Mmm, I was _so_ hungry! God, how long has it been since we ate?"

"I'd have to say it was right before we got dragged down an alley, if I were to guess," Al said, as he grabbed the other half of the sandwich left behind on the plate.

"Huh? Well, I guess that explains why I'm so hungry-"

"Are you kidding me? You're _always_ hungry!" Winry and Al had a grand time laughing at Ed, who protested.

"Hey! Not true! I'm _not-"_

"Who the hell are you trying to fool this time, and what about, shorty?" Roy drawled from the doorway. He was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt.

"WHAT DID YOU-'

"It's too early for that. Here," Roy interrupted, tossing Ed and Al a pair of clothes. Ed, still donning a drafty (and frankly unflattering) hospital gown, took them gratefully, ignoring the dig about his height. Al and Winry still wore their mud crusted, blood-speckled (in Winry's case, splotches; she'd helped Riza into the ambulance.)

"Thanks, Colonel," Al said, catching the bundle easily. Ed, still half-incapacitated, got hit in the face.

"How long is it going to take for you to call me Roy?"

"Oh, right. Thanks, Roy," Al said, the name feeling strange on his lips. He unwrapped the bundle. "My sweatpants! How did you get these?"

Roy smiled, finally entering the room.

"I asked Maria to stop by your house before coming here to deliver the report sheets. I hope that was okay; Riza gave her the spare key."

"Nah, it's fine. Tell her thanks the next time you see her," Ed said, yanking his hand up. Finally the stupid braided rope had loosened a little.

Roy, for once, wasn't laughing at him.

"You too, huh?" Ed asked, seeing Roy's sympathetic look. He nodded. "I got handcuffed."

Edward winced in sympathy, just now noticing the red marks circling his wrists.

"Ooh, tough luck, I guess. Who tied you up?"

"Maes.'

"Ah."

Roy looked down, momentarily having forgotten the last thing.

"Oh, sorry. I got a little sidetracked there. Ms. Rockbell, Riza said to give these to you," he said, handing her a neat pile of clothes. She smiled.

"Thank you so much! Ugh, finally, I can get clean again!" Winry exclaimed, throwing her arms up in elation. "Woohoo! I'm going to shower!"

Winry looked down. Aside from the blood, there was crusted dirt, paint splatter, and a little machine oil residue that had been on one of her wrenches.

She wrinkled her nose.

_Gross. _

Inspecting the clothes, Winry's excitement grew when it turned out to be one of Ed's old shirts (that she had swapped long ago, without his noticing) and a pair of sleeping shorts.

_Oh god..._

_HIDE IT_

"What'd you get?" Ed curiously craned his neck as far as it would go without dislocating his shrieked, which was enough to thoroughly startle Al, hastily hiding the offending article of clothing behind her back.

"N-nothing! Just, uh, shorts!" Winry said a bit too quickly. "Yep, just my shorts!"

"Sorry about that. I told Maria to grab something relatively comfortable, seeing as the last couple of days have been pretty hectic," Roy apologized. "I didn't think you'd be going anywhere for a while, at least not until your clothes have been sufficiently washed.

Al waved it off, saying it was more than enough.

"Never knew shorts could draw such a reaction from you," Ed mused, raising an eyebrow. Winry stuttered.

"Uh-"

"Something you wanna tell the class, Win?"

"Brother, stop teasing her. You were practically harassing her in her sleep a little while ago." Now it was Ed's turn to be at a loss for words.

"But what is it you're hiding not-so-subtly behind your back, I wonder?" Roy asked, earning narrowed eyes from the only female in the room. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

_Say something. Anything. That was his favorite shirt, and he'll think you're a stalker or something!_ Her inner voice urged her.

"I- Mmm... it's..."

_Or worse, he'll know you like him!_

"I mean I-"

_For the love of god, just SAY SOMETHING. ANYTHING._

"Underwear! I got underwear!" Winry blurted, satisfied when it stunned Ed into silence for a second.

_Think fast think fast he's opening his mouth again just say something just shut him up-_

"And a bra!"

His mouth closed.

In fact, it did more than that.

...

Roy was the first to speak, as he was the least affected by her little outburst. He was a (mostly) grown man. He knew girls wore underwear. Among other things. Nothing special. (That is, he was calm and indifferent until Riza came into the picture. Then, he turned into a blubbering, really rather pathetic mess that closely resembled what Ed and Al looked like a the moment.)

But mostly Ed.

"Ed, you'll catch flies like that," Roy informed him calmly. "And Al... Pop you eyes back in your sockets before you cause permanent damage."

Dumbly, they nodded, complying with his orders.

"...Alirghty then, I'm gonna just shower, and I'll be back when you guys finally get your brains functioning again," Winry said, trying to smother her laughter with the words flowing out of her mouth. She practically bounced out to the door, the prospect of a hot shower growing more appealing by the second.

"Roy?" Winry called over her shoulder before bounding to the washroom. Roy nodded, as he cut the ropes securing Edward.

"Make sure they don't get into any more trouble, would you?"

* * *

Winry laughed into the downpour of water rushing into her face.

"Ah... It's so nice to be clean again!" She almost cried, relieved that the smell of sweat and grime had been swapped out with lavender.

The stall was clean, white tiled floors and pristine white wall. After all, what else would one expect from a hospital?

Curtains drawn, Winry let the tension melt and her mind be occupied with nothing but whiteness.

"I wonder..." Winry murmured, looking up at the bright lights above her.

"...what was that?"

"Winry?"

Winry grabbed the towel off the hook, conveniently five inches from her fingertips. She wrapped it around her, and the fluffy material barely covered everything important. Tying it securely, she pulled aside the shower curtain just a little.

"Hello?" Winry's voice called out, red still red from the hot water. "Who's there?"

_Please, please let met not have showered in the men's washroom by accident._ Winry silently pleaded crossing every limb in her body that she didn't flash some unsuspecting male nurse.

"Winry?" The voice called again, from what sounded like the next stall over. The voice was vaguely familiar, and Winry breathed a sigh of relief when the voice was clearly female.

"It's Mei!"

"Oh!' Winry cried, only barely remembering the changed voice she'd heard the previous night. "Mei! Where were you last night? You just disappeared on me!"

"Sorry," the Xingese girl sheepishly apologized. "i just... had some stuff on my mind. I just wanted to be alone for a while."

Winry and Mei had both shut off the water, and the absence of the sound was very prominent.

"It's about Al, right?" Winry guessed, already knowing the answer.

"How did you know?" Mei said weakly, shrinking into herself.

"It wasn't hard to realize," Winry admitted. Winry was silent again, trying to find a way to phrase her next , however, beat her to it.

"...I can't believe he didn't remember me," Mei whispered, shame coloring her cheeks. "It was stupid of me to think he'd still know me."

"Nonononno!" Winry cried, flying out of her stall and into Mei's. Mei, (luckily, she was covered in her own towel) eyes watery, let the tears falling down her face mingle with the shoer water. Her wet hair hung down pin straight, in a black silky curtain.

Winry took the slight, lean girl into her arms, letting her sniffle away.

"He didn't forget you. I promise. He talks about you all the time, you know," Winry soothed her friend. "He talks about how he was planning on going to visit you and learn Alkahestry soon, and that he really misses you."

"But..."

"He just didn't recognize you," Winry reassured her. "No one did. I mean, you got super gorgeous- not to say that you weren't pretty before- but you really threw him off. He doesn't notice anyone who isn't you; and since he didn't know..."

"Thank you," Mei said, trembling from both the cold and the gratefulness.

"Thank you so much."

"So," Winry pulled back.

"What do you say about moving in with us?"

* * *

Winry returned with a shadow.

A girl.

Practically clinging to her like a jacket, the girl was almost hard to spot from the front. She was flexible enough to practically mirror Winry, being unseen. The fact that she was could compact herself into a box if the urge arose was helpful.

Al, napping in the bedside chiar, had one hand draped over his eyes to block out the light. His wet hair flattened to his head, he looked like he did

When Winry finally did enter the room, Ed had changed. He had given his dirty clothes to one of the hospital staff to be thrown in the wash. Ed was currently pacing the room impatiently. He had quickly showered, and his hair hung in a wet braid. already spreading a water spot in the back of his shirt.

"Oh! Uh, Winr-" he stopped short, pausing to smirk at her.

Winry looked at him, daring him to say whatever stupid comment was bound to come out of his mouth at any second.

"Is that my old favorite t-shirt?" Ed asked, a teasing grin pulling at his lips. Winry nervous twisted said article of clothing in her hands.

"Umm, no?"

Ed doubled over laughing.

"I knew it! Ha! Al didn't believe me when I told him my clothes were disappearing!"

Winry sputtered.

"I- I did not! I do-"

"Don't tell me you stole my old sweater?!" Ed chortled again. "Oh, this is _amazing."_

Winry cleared her throat, pushing her obvious embarrassment to the side.

"Ed, don't you think it's a little rude not to greet someone?" Winry snapped, changing the subject. Ed turned his head, craning his neck to look behind her.

"Who the hell are you even talking about?"

Mei's head popped up.

"Hi, Edward," she chimed softly.

She stepped out from behind Winry, somehow stretching to her actual height. Ed jumped back a step, hiding behind an equally startled Roy.

"You're that girl from last night!" Ed pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Sorry, I was just doing like Winry asked me to," she apologized. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"What? That was you?" Roy burst. "That was some impressive stuff. I didn't even see you."

"T-thanks," she stuttered. "I'm sorry if I-"

"Wait you were the chick who knocked me out yesterday?!' Ed asked, jumping out from behind Roy. "Man, that was awesome! Seriously, I barely felt it before I hit the ground! Was that martial arts?" Ed asked, a familiar glint in his eyes that meant he was both intrigued and curious.

"Yeah, sort of. I mean, most of it is Alkahestry techniques watered down to the basics. But those are derived from martial arts, so yeah, I guess you could say that," Mei replied, slowly becoming less anxious around the eldest Elric. Winry smiled, happy Mei was getting over the little slump she'd been thrown into.

"Alkahestry? Is that what you said?" Ed asked, suddenly much more enthusiastic. "That great? Are you in Central for a while? Because my brother needs a professor, and if you can pull off a stunt like that-"

"Hey, wait," Roy interrupted, shoving Ed to the side. Ed growled, but Roy paid him no mind.

"You seem familiar..." Roy grumbled, hating how the name to go with the face escaped him.

"Hey, now that you mention it, I guess so..."

Mei threw her hands up.

"Are you kidding me? I _cannot have possibly_ changed that much!" Mei exclaimed shrilly. "That's like the third person in less than a day!" She began banging her head into the wall.

"What is happening?!" Mei wailed, hoping the world would somehow begin to make sense again if she gave herself a minor concussion. Winry shrieked, and rushed to pry the Xingese girl from the bleached wall.

"Calm down!" Winry cried.

Roy's mouth opened.

"You're that little girl with the tiny cat-thing!" Roy clapped. "Mei!"

"It's a panda!" Mei cried. "For the millionth time, it's called _a panda!"_

Ed froze.

"Mei?" Ed asked, moving closer to get a better look.

"You got... Wow..." Ed finished lamely. Winry giggled, finding his inability to form a coherent sentence amusing. (Besides, she knew Mei wasn't interested in Ed that way, and vice versa.)

Roy, someone who was _way_ too old for her and _not_ interested in the slightest, could agree with that. Mei had blossomed; a transformation that had left her almost unrecognizable. A stranger, almost.

Even to the boy who's been dreaming of her for months.

"Yeah." She responded, monotone. "So I've heard."

"Wow, I mean... God, What did Al do when he saw _you?" _Ed asked, snickering to himself at the thought of his little baby brother getting so worked up over a girl. "Man, I bet he almost fainted!"

Winry shot him a look that made him pause.

"...what?"

Mei fiddled with her hands, as Xiao-Mei appeared on her shoulder.

"Al... Alphonse forgot me," she admitted.

Ed blanched.

"What? Of course he didn't! I mean, he just didn't recognize you! Jeez, don't mind that thick-headed idiot. Trust me; he hasn't shut up about you since yo left. I mean, he's been working up the nerve to ask for permission to visit. "

Mei internally perked up at that information.

"Really? He didn't even notice me until I drop-kicked you in the neck," Mei responded morosely. (I know it wasn't a drop-kick exactly, but...)

"He doesn't notice anyone who isn't you. Promise. And since he didn't know you were in town..." Ed trailed off, knowing she was following.

"I don't think so," she said doubtfully.

"But he-"

"I think I'll just try and introduce myself again. We can start over," Mei choked out, trying to not have her hopes brought up and crushed once again.

"I know he'll be thrilled to see you," he finished, pulling her in for a hug.

"Agree to disagree, and leave it at that," she compromised.

They all rolled their eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"Welcome back."

* * *

Al woke up feeling much, much better.

His hair was almost dry, and despite the uncomfortable pins and needles sensation spreading through his hand, he felt at ease in the small room.

He stretched, yawning.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

Ed's voice came from his perch on the bed.

"Oh, that's _rich_ coming from you."

"At least _I_ didn't make a girl cry," Ed shot back, annoyance levels at his brother rising. "_I'm_ free of that charge at least. "

Al shot up. At first worry overwhelmed him. But then, he realized, there was no opportunity for him to have even speak to a girl recently, much less upset one.

Then came the accusatory finger.

"Wha- I _did not!"_ He protested. "Winry's fine! I haven't done anything mean _at all!"_

"I'm not talking about Win! I'm talking about the pretty Xingese girl who kung-fued me and The Colonel into unconsciousness!" Ed bellowed.

"What?!' Al drew back, baffled. They didn't have arguments often, but when they did; the volume was increased. Drastically. "I didn't do_ ANYTHING_ to make her upset! All I did was ask her about the techniques she used!"

"You only what?! You didn't even ask her name?!"

"I would have, if she hadn't run away all of a sudden, sniffling and-"

Al realized now.

"Oh shoot, I made her _cry?!"_ He panicked. "I didn't- I mean, I don't _think_ I said anything to make her so upset!" Al then began running through every aspect of their conversation, trying to recall something he could have said or done to make her _cry._

"Oh god, is this an offensive gesture in Xing?" Al asked, moving his arms in a way that made him look like an idiot. "Please tell me this isn't some obscene cures word or something." Al moaned, close to tears.

"Dude. _Dude, you have to calm down."_

"Alphonse?"

"Ignore him. My brother's being an asshole," Ed said with a scowl.

Al whirled around, looking to the person Ed had been speaking to over his shoulder.

It was the pretty girl again. The Alkahestry practitioner.

"Alphonse? Are you alright?" She asked, slipping over and around Ed. She put a hand to Al's forehead. "You're burning up. Do you want me to call a nurse, or give you a checkup myself? I'd be happy to; it would only take a minute or two."

Al shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I heard I apparently cause you some issues."

She waved it off.

"It's fine."

"But thank you for the offer... I'm sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Mei. Mei Chang," she offered with a smile, trying not to look as hurt as she felt.

...

"M-MEI?!" Al half-wailed and half-shrieked.

"We actually knew each other a long time ago. Back when the war ended," Mei's heart broke a little as she explained their past association with each other.

"B-bbbut you're really-"

_Oh god please not another one... There are only so many times in one day that I can do this..._

"But you're..."

_If he says I look different I swear to-_

_"Pretty!"_ He squeaked.

Mei could feel all the blood rushing to her face.

_Wha?_

Al realized his mistake a second after.

"No! I mean, You were pretty before, you were always pretty but now you're just a lot taller and thinner and now you have hips and lips and your eyes are really prey and of course now you have boo-"

His rambling was cut off abruptly, and his sentence awkwardly came to a stop.

Aaaaand now they were the same color.

Xiao-Mei had made her way to Mei's head, and waved up at Alphonse.

Ed and Roy broke out laughing at the same time.

"Were you trying to say that she has b-"

Al shot them a death glare severe enough to stun them into silence.

"-curves..." Ed quickly tried to cover up, coughing.

Al turned back to Mei.

"...I missed you, Alphonse," she admitted, tucking a strand of dark hair behind a pale ear. He bit his lip.

"Mei!" He kneeled in front of her. "I am so _so sorry I didn't recognize you!"_ Mei laughed.

"No problem. It happens."

He stood, pulling her in for a warm hug.

"I missed you."

He brought his lips to her ear.

"And just so you know, I could never, _ever_ forget you."

Mei, blinked, as she was disbelievingly squeezed by Alphonse.

"So guys," Winry began, signing her arm around Mei. "What do you think about us getting a new roommate?"

* * *

Mei was extremely, amazingly, stunningly radiant.

* * *

A week and a half later, and Riza was finally leaving the hospital.

Roy's promotion had been put on hold for the time being; seeing as there were things Grumman had to take care of, and things had to settle down. They were trying to ease into this; and slowly get the still-recovering nation use to the idea of the Flame Alchemist becoming leader of the military.

He had created quite a reputation over the years.

Too bad Roy hadn't been notified of her release.

In fact, he hadn't been informed about anything concerning her condition, against his wishes. But Riza had made him promise; seeing as he had work to do and papers to fill out. (That, and Maes had promised to keep him under control.)

If he _had_ been told, he would have been fussing over her every second of the way home, making sure she was strapped in and safe more importantly _safe._

Because now, a very determined, and _very_ stubborn gun-wielding blonde was trying to get her house on her own. She couldn't drive with a useless leg, that was for sure. Calling a cab was out of the question; the way they drove and the amount of jostling she'd receive was probably dangerous to land her back in emergency care.

So; she went with the irrational, stupid, and really just ridiculous choice.

She was going to walk.

All the way home.

Oh, god she'd missed this. For over _seven whole days_ she'd only been allowed to sit. The adrenaline, the energy, the familiar ache that one got after exercising.

If there was one thing Riza Hawkeye loved (other than Roy Mustang), it was a challenge.

To be completely technical about the whole thing, she was going to _swing_ all the way home. On crutches.

At least now, she didn't look like a runaway, renegade patient. Just this morning, before she'd learned she would be free again, Winry had dropped off some decent clothes, which was a nice change.

Some shorts, a tank top, and sneakers often used for running laps during training. (Riza couldn't very well wear tight pants that she often wore when outside of the office. This allowed a) more movement that was required for exercise b) her not to be sweating like a pig and c) her bandages weren't squeezed up against her leg uncomfortably and d)... well, it made her legs look good)

She was almost completely recovered at this point, so she'd _finally been release goddamnit._

Maybe it was the meds.

Or the urge to finally sleep in her own bed, and eat her own food, and see her dog finally overwhelmed her.

She was giddy at the prospect of her familiar duvet, the relatively new one that had been given to her after the Peter/Lacey incident. It had been a gift.

It even smelled like him. (Roy, obviously. It most definitely _wasn't_ Breda.)

And wow, her mouth watered when she thought of food that would taste of something other than cardboard.

She swung forward again, and she knew the repeated action would result in sore under-arms later.

It was still worth it.

It was bright out, the sun just barely having begun to descend. Riza whistled happily.

And all was right in the world again, just for those few, previous moments.

Of course, that peace wouldn't last very long once Roy got wind of her executive decision.

Riza _had_ known this, or course, before she'd left. Roy had the potential for some severely extreme reactions in him, and this was sure to elicit that particular response. If he ever found out.

Which she almost hoped he didn't. (But they had agreed no more secrets, so if he asked she would most definitely tell.)

But she was a big girl, and she could make her way home like any other adult. And she did _not_ have the the patience to wait seven more hours for him to finish work and pick her up. Her gun bumped against her hip- where it hung from her holster- each time she took a swing/step/jump/hop forwards.

A loud burst of noise make Riza groan. Startled birds flew up and a cloud, freaked out by the noise.

"RIZA?!" Came Havoc's voice over the sound of a rumbling car engine.

Riza threw her head back, sighing. The military standard black car pulled up next to her, and an enraged military officer tumbled out. Havoc 'oomph' and picked himself up, brushing dirt off of his knees.

He turned to glare at her.

She innocently looked back at him.

"What?" She slyly asked. "I'm just walking."

"Yes. You are walking. _O__n crutches,_" Havoc stressed the words.

"Yeah. So?" She challenged. Havoc inhaled, rubbing at his temples. On any other day, on any other topic, he would not _dare_ go head to head with Riza Hawkeye.

"Riza, _please_ tell me you are not trying to _walk home, after being shot, on crutches,_" Havoc emphasized certain words, making sure his point got across.

One look at her guilty, and not at all apologetic face told him everything he needed to know.

"Ohmygod," Havoc breathed, covering his eyes with his hand. "Maes was right, you're completely insane. Out of your mind. _Woman, what in the world were you thinking?!"_ Havoc suddenly screeched, jumping up and down out of pure frustration.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?! What stupid idea made you think that you could somehow _WALK HOME WITH A BULLET WOUND?!" _Havoc voice raised an octave with each word, until it was a strangled shriek.

"I was-"

"No. You know what? I don't wanna hear it," Havoc said, quickly wiping at the smudged dirt along his jaw. He gave her a dirty look. "Lord knows how you've survived this long. If I didn't know you, judging by your recklessness, I wouldn't have been surprised if you threw yourself in front of a car at one point in your military career."

Riza wouldn't meet his gaze. His jaw dropped.

"Oh, you're kidding."

"Well, uh, I mean, it doesn't really count, seeing as it was a bus and-"

"See? This is what I'm talking about. How are you still alive?"

"Reflexes," Riza answered automatically. "And sometimes luck. Oh, and it helps to have a strong inner core and exercise daily, not to mention be able to handle guns-"

"Riza!" He exclaimed. He pinched his nose, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down. He pointed.

"Get in the car." He growled. "Get in the car before I do something I really regret."

"Try me." Riza shot back, twin guns appearing in her hands seemingly out of nowhere. Havoc inwardly gulped, knowing that Riza only fired warning shots the first couple of times. After that, shit got real. But if he really _did_ feel scared senseless by the dangerous objects in her hands, he didn't show it.

Instead, he cleared his throat, and yanked open the passenger's door. He gestured to the waiting seat.

"Come on, in you go," he waved at the opening to the door impatiently once more. "Up, up," he urged, as if telling small child.

She rolled her eyes.

"Jean, I'm not _five._ I understand words that are more complicated than two letters," Riza snapped.

"Get. In." He said, not backing down. Unfortunately for him, it would eventually come back to bite him in the but. Someday...

Riza opened her mouth to argue once more, but was silenced with a look.

"Whether you like it or not, you are coming with me, even if it means I have to drag you there." She made no move to comply with him, and he sighed.

"Fine. I'm coming," she grumbled.

She lowered herself to the passenger's seat.

Jean strapped her in, checking the buckle twice before starting the car. She (playfully) smacked him int he head.

"Hey! You know I know how a seatbelt works, right?" She asked with a laugh.

"Uh huh, Could've fooled me..." Havoc teased.

Nad just like that, the two were laughing together, like they hadn't done in a very long time.

They really were like brother and sister.

* * *

When the vehicle slowed to a stop in front of her house, Winry was the first to run up to the car door.

"Ohmygosh, Riza! you're finally out of the hospital!" She hugged her friend. Pulling back, she suspiciously eyed her friend. "You were _released_ weren't you? Because I swear, if you just ran away, I'm going to drive you back there, whether I have to commandeer this car, or build an automobile from scratch."

Riza, unfazed, waved her off.

Jean chortled next to her.

"Oooh, I like her... No wonder you two get along, you could pass as sisters!" He dissolved in a fit of laughter once more.

Winry helped her out of the car, holding out her crutches.

Just before Havoc drove off, he rolled down the window.

"Oh, and Riza?"

Riza stopped to look back over her shoulder at him.

"Yes?'

"Roy _will_ be hearing about this."

And with that, he sped off, the afternoon sunlight glinting off the black finish.

_Well, shit._

* * *

Mei was adjusting perfectly.

Not only that, she even increased the healing speed of Riza's wound tenfold. She'd even showed Al a basic Alkahestry circle in the process.

Overall, it was a pretty good day.

"So the thing about Alkahestry is; basic martial arts combined with certain moves can increase both the capabilities and effectiveness by a lot," Mei explained, watching as Al absorbed every word with rapt attention. He nodded, scribbling something down on a pad of paper. Reaching out, she grabbed his wrist. Riza watched with amusement from the couch. Ed wolf-whistled, and Winry snickered, as they pooped their heads in to peek.

Mei paid them no mind, and Al was obviously to entranced at her hand on his wrist and _holy shit she was touching him ohmygod ohmygod what was he supposed to do now-_

"Al," she said, both emotions and the heat from the summer air making her face all pinkish-red. "You don't have to write this all down. Really," she laughed, his expression looking like a embarrassed kid.

Bashfully, he hung his head.

"I just, uh, I won't remember this is if I don't go over it after a couple of time," he admitted. Ed whispered to Winry, as an answer to her questioning look.

"Al's usually fine once he gets the principles, but usually it takes him a while to fully grasp the principles. He doesn't like to admit it though," Ed said, quietly, careful that he didn't hear them.

Winry snorted.

"I'm honestly not surprised. Being a little slow isn't anything to be embarrassed about, and Al's a fine alchemist. But with a prodigy, a famous prodigy no less, as a brother who is know throughout Amestris... It's a little intimidating," Winry explained.

Ed look regretful for a few beats of silence. He stared at his hand, almost mournfully.

"Well... it's not like he has to worry about that anymore," he whispered more to himself.

_I kind of miss it; the rush of energy under my fingertips. That ability to create and help others. _

"I gave it all up."

* * *

**Hey... So, how are you guys?**

**Anyway, you may not have noticed, but I tried to write a longer chapter because I update less nowadays. In 16 days, I have Regents testing. After that... I'm pretty much home free!**

**(Hopefully) be back soon!**

**-Pyro**


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